Black Knot Bowl

I found a maple tree in the woods that had large burls protruding from it. After some research I think it has black knot disease. Black knot disease kills the limbs it infects, and can quickly spread to other trees. I decided to climb the tree and cut as much of the infection away as I could. Naturally finding these burls sparked my curiosity and a bowl was born. It is amazing what beauty you can find within things that appear ugly on the surface, all it takes is an open mind and a little effort.

I used Easy Cast epoxy resin to fill in the large cracks, and ended up finishing the entire bowl with the Easy Cast to avoid any unwanted reactions from mixing finishes. I still need to experiment on a scrap piece of wood to make sure I can mix certain finishes before wasting a unique piece of wood like this.

Check out my previous project to see a small burl from this tree that I turned into a shot glass.

-- What? I didn't "break" it, I was just testing its durability, and then I "placed" it in the woods because it's made of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.