Déjà Vu

Years back a group of leading UK turners attended a seminar at which Philip Streeting aroused some interest and prompted much discussion by showing in the ‘instant gallery’ a controversial ‘bowl’ made by taking a handful of wood shavings and shaping them roughly into a bowl shape.

Philip is well known for thinking outside the box and, despite looking much like a bird’s nest, his exhibit was undoubtedly bowl-shaped and the shavings had undoubtedly been turned. I think some of the turners at the seminar were slightly uneasy about accepting it as a turned bowl and, myself included, regarded it fairly simply as a ‘turner’s joke’. However, ideas stick and they may mature and develop even without our conscious thought.

Sometimes it’s difficult to be sure where ideas and inspiration come from, but looking at the shavings strewn on and around my lathe, I thought again of Philip’s wood shavings bowl, and I began to consider more seriously how I might re-use shavings to make another, rather less