Distorted Maple

Fabulous mystery turning Mike, tip of the hat mate

Beautiful piece! Fascinating surface to contemplate, especially as a new turner. How about a small hint: does the piece start (before carving) from a sphere held in between points (jig?) to hollow six shallow “bowls” on three separate axes? I would guess the "bowls" have central pillars at that point, a bit like a sea urchin?

Thanks Peter and John. John,you are pretty close. I actually made a jig to hold the sphere off center. I first marked out and drilled the 6 holes (3 that meet in the center, and 3 more that are at 90 degrees to that which also meet in the center. Then bowls are hollowed on the 6 faces, but these are off center, so actually 6 separate axes, can't do this between centers. I have done many pieces using the method you described though.

Outstanding end result!