I found a piece of wood that I had left in the kiln quite awhile back.  The kiln had been shut down, so the wood wasn’t continuing to dry, but it had to have been in there for months.  I think it’s the last remaining piece of birch that I picked up off the curb, but at this point, I’m really not positive.

I vaguely remember putting the piece in the kiln, thinking it would be the most un-inspiring piece of wood from the tree.  The others all had features that were filled with epoxy and ended up looking better than I had hoped.  This one, though, just had a grain pattern that seemed to want to tear out really bad.  That happens sometimes, especially when the wood is really green, so I figured if it gave me the least bit of trouble once I did the final turning, I’d just chuck it in the firepit.

I’m really not sure the picture does this piece justice, because it turns out this has some really pretty effects going on in the grain patterns.  There are shiney streaks in the wood (chatoyance) that literally glow when the light hits it.  My initial thoughts were to add some kind of embellishment to the bowl, but after seeing the way the grain stood out, I’m proud to leave this one brown and round!