2 handled wooden bowl by Michael Combs
Michael Combs was first exposed to the craft of bowlmaking in 1996 when he saw Bill Day, an eighty-year-old bowlmaker from Indiana handhewing bowls in the pioneer demonstration area of the Indiana State Fair. After seeing the demonstration, Combs knew he wanted to do more than just try this craft, he wanted to be a bowlmaker. By 2004, he had already handcrafted over 1000 bowls.
Combs is completely self-taught, learning from his mistakes and working them out by trial and error. He remembers that at times he progressed rapidly, but sometimes it took several bowls to achieve the needed change in his technique. After nine months of bowlmaking, he juried into his first arts and crafts show. He was first selected for the Directory of Traditional American Crafts in 2001.
Combs recently found a source for birdseye maple logs in New England and he believes the bowls from these logs are unique. In addition, he believes he is the only modern bowlmaker making handle-hole bowls, a design he adapted from Native American bowls. He is also licensed by the Mercer Museum of the Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, to reproduce two bowls from their collection.
