I recently finished this gift. Below is the message I will include with the bowl. It is 9.75" x 5" with wipe-on ploy finish.
Happy 60th Birthday!
To celebrate this milestone in your life I wanted to create something for you that represented the growth you have experienced over your first 60 years.
What you are holding in your hands is a segmented bowl. Think of each segment as a construction piece that contributed to who you have become. Each layer represents 10 years of your life; the first 30 years consist of one species of wood (walnut). In your 30’s (the fourth layer) you had 4 children, and four new species of wood are added to the walnut (patagonia rosewood, purple heart, lati, and paddock). In the last two layers, your 40’s and 50’s two final woods (palm, and curly maple) are added to represent your marriage to Meg (and Will). Each new species represents an expansion of identity – when life asked you to become more than you had been before. Each new wood brings contrast and complexity to your life; much like the responsibilities and joys that come with marriage and children.
The finished bowl represents how new life experiences don’t replace what preceded, but the whole grows more complex as it takes on new meanings and forms. The bowl gains in circumference with those added species – more people to care for, more consequences to consider, and more meaning carried forward.
The final bowl is constructed of 183 segments. This total represents your age (60) plus the ages of each of your children on your 60th birthday (21, 25, 27, 28) plus the years of marriage to Meg (11) and Will (11) on your 60th birthday. [60+21+25+27+28+11+11=183]
Happy 60th Birthday!
Happy 60th Birthday!
To celebrate this milestone in your life I wanted to create something for you that represented the growth you have experienced over your first 60 years.
What you are holding in your hands is a segmented bowl. Think of each segment as a construction piece that contributed to who you have become. Each layer represents 10 years of your life; the first 30 years consist of one species of wood (walnut). In your 30’s (the fourth layer) you had 4 children, and four new species of wood are added to the walnut (patagonia rosewood, purple heart, lati, and paddock). In the last two layers, your 40’s and 50’s two final woods (palm, and curly maple) are added to represent your marriage to Meg (and Will). Each new species represents an expansion of identity – when life asked you to become more than you had been before. Each new wood brings contrast and complexity to your life; much like the responsibilities and joys that come with marriage and children.
The finished bowl represents how new life experiences don’t replace what preceded, but the whole grows more complex as it takes on new meanings and forms. The bowl gains in circumference with those added species – more people to care for, more consequences to consider, and more meaning carried forward.
The final bowl is constructed of 183 segments. This total represents your age (60) plus the ages of each of your children on your 60th birthday (21, 25, 27, 28) plus the years of marriage to Meg (11) and Will (11) on your 60th birthday. [60+21+25+27+28+11+11=183]
Happy 60th Birthday!
