English walnut crotch - Totally unexpected result!! (4th Anniversary giveaway)

Comments · 1.6K

• GR

  @Grumpy_Granddad · 6 months ago · pinned

  Turning the Years <br>For Mike Holton, <br> <br>🪵 A Poem for the Woodturner <br> <br>You lift the walnut <br>as if greeting an old friend, <br>a weight you feel first in the hands, <br>then in the chest. <br>It’s larger than expected, <br>but so is every journey worth taking. <br> <br>You read the grain <br>the way some read weather or scripture: <br>the feathering, the heartwood, <br>the stubborn cracks that insist <br>on being part of the story. <br>Nothing here is wasted. <br>Nothing here is hidden. <br> <br>The lathe hums its low benediction. <br>Shavings gather at your feet <br>like the passing of hours, <br>spirals of time, <br>curled and warm, <br>the soft applause of the craft itself. <br> <br>You work the wobble, <br>the imbalance, <br>the awkward heft of what the tree once held. <br>You coax curve from chaos, <br>patience from resistance, <br>beauty from the places <br>that tried hardest to break. <br> <br>And when the feathering appears, <br>that sudden flare of wonder <br>only walnut knows how to give, <br>your voice lifts, <br>as if the wood has spoken back <br>and you’re simply answering. <br> <br>You sand, <br>you seal, <br>you steady your hands <br>through the long ache of the day. <br>You honour the bark’s memory, <br>leave the edges honest, <br>let the tree keep its wildness. <br> <br>And when at last <br>the bowl stands finished, <br>a cradle of light and labour, <br>you give it away. <br>Because that’s the truest shape <br>your craft has taken: <br>four years of turning, <br>and the gift is always outward. <br> <br>Mike, <br>your work is a conversation <br>between gratitude and grain. <br>Your voice, your care, <br>your steady presence at the lathe, <br>they’ve carved a community <br>as surely as your gouge carves wood. <br> <br>May every curl of walnut <br>remember your hands. <br>May every viewer <br>remember your heart.

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• NA

  @NancyDean-zs4uo · 6 months ago

  Another beauty! I couldn’t really visualize how it would turn out but you made it happen! Mike, you know it’s not just your woodturning that we watch for - you are simply a gracious, kind, thoughtful, and generous man who reminds us there is still humanity out in this troubled world! Thank YOU for all of it.

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• GA

  @gandalfdingdong7498 · 1 month ago

  Mike I love your sensitivity to the different accents and quirks in the wood that you turn. Being able to adjust and change direction depending on what you find as you’re turning the wood, shows what an artisan you really are.

• PE

  @pete147 · 6 months ago

  Hi Mike, that’s very kind of you to give this magnificent piece to a very lucky winner. &nbsp;Good luck everyone! &nbsp;😊

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• RO

  @roncoleman4017 · 3 weeks ago

  Mike, the skill you share in your videos both in selecting and turning unique pieces matched with your pleasent voice and wit makes you one of my top choices in youtube channels.Well done!! Keep up the good work and we&apos;ll keep up the support. Ron.

• IB

  @ibewatchinu · 6 months ago

  Another lovely piece. &nbsp;I can see a cat sleeping in that.

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• TR

  @trace-elementz1343 · 3 days ago

  Wow! That&apos;s the most beautiful bowl; it literally glows. Outstanding!

• MI

  @MichaelBuchanan-69 · 6 months ago

  Congrats on 4 years. Keep up the great work and looking forward to all of your creations to come.

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• CH

  @chriskev5663 · 6 months ago

  When I woke up this morning I never expected to find myself complimenting such wonderful crotch feathering. &nbsp;Congrats on 4 years!

• ST

  @stlmopoet · 6 months ago (edited)

  I am continually surprised at how great these wonky shaped pieces turn out to be. Beautiful work!<br><br>Congratulations on how your channel continues to grow!

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• ES

  @EsmereldaPea · 6 months ago (edited)

  One of the things I most like about your work is how you let the wood speak to you. And let it tell you what it wants to be. <br><br>In my ancestral tradition, trees are sacred, so your obvious respect, care, and love for the wood really means a lot to me.<br><br>This piece is particularly beautiful. &nbsp;Congratulations on four years!

• LI

  @lisawheeler53 · 6 months ago

  Whoever receives this bowl is getting a very special treasure. &nbsp;That walnut is beautiful, Mkie. &nbsp;Love the design and finish!

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