Earlier in the summer I was asked to create an award for the city of Carmel, Indiana for an award that they are presenting in a couple of weeks. The award will be given to a local business that is showing strides in being a "green" company. I'm not sure what their criteria were for the recipient, but here is the award that will be presented. They initially wanted just a large bowl. I found out real quick that working with a committee can be somewhat stressful when requests and ideas change. I probably made the mistake of getting their opinion on every detail. The texture, the rim, even the worm holes I sent pictures of so I wouldn't get done with something they didn't like in the end. If I get another one of these I may do it differently. The stand for the bowl was added into the mix after the bowl was turned. They started off wanting just a pedestal, then they toyed with the idea of marble (I told them I don't do marble and they were on their own for that)After several attempts at them trying to come up with a decision for a stand and while waiting for them to finalize, I made this stand one afternoon. I sent a photograph and they loved it. I'd never made a stand for a bowl before and found it to be a fun challenge. As the two pieces came together the name Precarious Balance came to be and that sort of stuck. I suppose it represents the balance we share with our environment and our attempts to keep it from tipping into a place we certainly don't want it to go.
The piece is about 13" tall and the cherry bowl is 12" wide. The stand was cut on the bandsaw, then dyed with black leather dye, finished with lacquer. The foot of the bowl fits snugly into a recess in the stand and can be removed easily for use or whatever. The bowl is finished with Danish Oil.