When Wayne Omura and I visited Gus Mauri, probably the oldest woodturner in Hawaii, and one that was probably turning when I was in diapers, he showed us his amazing collection of giant 6 to 8 feet vases turned on his Nichols lathe. In his museum-like room, he had a picture of a calabash. He told us it belonged to a friend of his, and the calabash had been in his friend's family for generations, since the days of King Kamehameha. I took a picture of it. A collector stopped by and wanted something to give the person that hired him to build a million-dollar pool as a thank you. In the guy's house, he saw several Hawaiian artifacts. "I want the real deal," he told me. I chose the preferred wood of the ancient Hawaiians, Kou or Cordia Subcordata. About 7.5 inches tall. Finished with Danish oil. 3 pewa on the bottom. I will add the picture of my inspiration calabash below. As Rob Woodward commented on my Facebook, close, very close. Almost nailed it. For obvious reasons the picture of the inspiration calabash, is sideways, LOL
