On 27 Dec 2006 17:20:47 GMT, A Lurker wrote:

Last year this time I started on a slippery slope making some tree
ornaments on the used Jet lathe I picked up on a good deal with some other
equipment. Well now a year later, I'm running out of room on the breakfront
for bowls so I decided to give some as presents to family and friends. So
these are ~12" bowls from spalted elm finished with shellic or Waterlox and
then Beall polished. Presented with sprigs of Xmas tree greens, holly and a
candy cane inside. Smooth as a baby's bottom with some nice spalting lines.

So now the question .... do I have idiots for friends and family or do
people say things like this to you also?

"Is it microwaveable?"
"Is it dish washer safe?"
"Can I wash it in hot soapy water?"
"Will (various foods) hurt it?"
(all comments by different recipients)

Of course. Even if it's very artistic, it's still a bowl, and that's
what most folks see when they look at it. If it's a really special
bowl (and that sure isn't all of them, at least in my shop) then I
make a point of making a little stand so that it can be displayed
where a person can easily see the inside. That seems to make it stand
out more as "art" to the layperson, anyhow.

Do I have all practical utilitarian friends and family who don't see any
artistic display value (these were really nice bowl forms with nice finish
...REALLY ) or do you get comments like these also? The only other bowls
I've given out, were to people who gave me the wood and got some of their
tree back in return. They seemd to view them as a display item.

One way that I've found to avoid this to some extent is to give vases
as gifts instead of bowls- they may not be your cup of tea for
whatever reason, but there is a natural tendancy of most people to
view a vase as a display object, where they might just think of a
bowl, however attractive, as dinnerware. Even *I'm* inclined to make
a nice bowl, look at it for a few days or weeks, and then start using
it as a change dish or for some other utilitarian purpose. Making a
vase is a different story, though.

Jerry