Segmented bowls

Open forms built up from many small pieces of wood, where the pattern only appears once the shape is turned away.

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A flared segmented bowl with a stepped starburst pattern radiating from the base in pale maple, warm reddish browns and near black

Bowls are where segmented turning shows its hand most clearly. The blank is glued up ring by ring from cut pieces, so the design sits right through the wall of the vessel rather than on the surface of it.

What goes into a bowl

A bowl blank is built before it is ever turned. Boards are cut into smaller pieces and arranged into rings, and those rings are stacked and glued into a rough form that serves as my blank canvas.

Only then does it go on the lathe. The final shape is cut away from that blank, and the pattern I built into it emerges as the wall gets thinner. Because the design runs right through the wood, the inside of the bowl carries it as strongly as the outside.

The colour is the wood itself. Pale maple, deep brown walnut and wenge, reddish padauk and yellow heartwoods are chosen for the contrast they hold against one another, with no stain or paint anywhere in the piece.

Ring by ring assembly

The blank is stacked from glued rings, so the design is structural rather than applied to the surface.

Colour from the timber

Maple, walnut, wenge, padauk and yellow heartwoods, chosen for how they read against each other.

Pattern inside and out

Because the design runs through the wall, the interior of the bowl carries it as strongly as the exterior.

How a piece is made

Nothing here is carved or painted. Every pattern is cut, arranged and glued into the blank before the form is turned away.

STEP 01

Choosing the wood

Domestic hardwoods and imported exotics, chosen for colour, availability and sustainability.

STEP 02

Cutting the segments

Boards are cut down into many smaller pieces, ready to be rearranged into something new.

STEP 03

Building the blank

Those pieces are arranged and glued up ring by ring into the form that becomes my blank canvas.

STEP 04

Turning the vessel

The shape emerges on the lathe, and the pattern built into the wood appears with it.

No stains, no paint

Everything you see in these vessels is timber. The colour, the pattern and the line all come out of the wood itself and the way the blank was built.

A tall segmented wooden jar in pale maple with a chevron band of walnut and padauk around its widest point

Colour that comes from the wood

No stains and no paint. The natural colours in these woods are what make the patterns possible.

Sustainably sourced timber

Wood harvested from sustainable forests and managed plantations running sound reforestation programs.

Turned one at a time

Each blank is built and turned individually, which is why no two vessels ever come out the same.

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Question? Answered

How the work is made, what goes into it, and how to get hold of a piece.

What is segmented woodturning?

It is a technique known as polychromatic woodturning, or segmented construction. Boards are cut into many smaller pieces and rearranged into a form that serves as the blank canvas. That blank is then turned on the lathe, and the pattern built into it emerges as the shape is cut away. My current work is exclusively segmented turning.

What woods do you use?

A combination of domestic and exotic woods from around the world, selected for colour, availability and sustainability. Most of the exotics and imported woods come from local suppliers in the Phoenix area, and the American hardwoods come from resellers of the same species furniture has been built from for generations. Newer pieces also incorporate dyed birch veneers.

Is the colour painted or stained?

No. The natural colours in the woods are what allow the patterns and designs in the bowls, pots and vases to be created. Where you see stronger colour, such as the blues and oranges, that is dyed birch veneer laminated into the blank rather than a finish applied to the surface.

Do you ship, and what does it cost?

Yes. Domestic shipping is free on all orders over $350.

Where can I see the work in person?

I exhibit at fine art festivals around Arizona. For 2026 that is the Wigwam Festival of Fine Art in Litchfield Park in February, the Fountain Festival of Fine Arts and Crafts in Fountain Hills later that month, and the High Street Arts Festival in Phoenix in March. Full dates and times are on the Shows page.

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Seen something you like?

Every vessel is one of a kind. Send me a note about a piece, or come and find the booth at one of this year's Arizona shows.

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FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING OVER $350

SEGMENTED, ONE-OF-A-KIND VESSELS

TURNED IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA