My Neighbor's Big Calabash Bowl

Here’s the back story on this bowl...
My Neighbor's Big Calabash
This is the last piece of that red maple burl from my neighbors yard that came down due to storm damage last year. I roughed this out 17 months ago, and finish turned it yesterday. It needed all that time to dry properly.

I showed it to the neighbor lady next door [Jan] and she loved it! I was not sure what the bowl form I was going to do was, and had considered an ogee shaped bowl, but decided to go with a calabash form. I did not know this until our conversation, but Jan was born in Hawaii, as her family was military, and they were there for over 10 years. Her mother, who passed away back this summer had purchased a calabash bowl while living there in the 1970's, and it got smashed and destroyed during the move back to the mainland, and she was heartbroken over losing that bowl.

When Jan saw the bowl and the "Hawaiian Calabash Style Bowl" I put on the bottom inscription, she teared up, and was so appreciative......a tree that meant much to them, and a bowl from it with a form her mother loved. She and her daughter both just were so happy.

Bowl diameter is 14 inches. Pics taken with my iphone 11.