Collection: Marc Banka

Wood

Durham, NC | Exhibiting Since 2025

I create bowls with simple forms from freshly felled local trees. I’m drawn to the purity of simple forms and the difficulty of achieving beauty and balance, all while keeping in harmony with the natural beauty of the wood, its coloring and grain patterns, and its orientation within the bowl created.

With pick-up truck and chainsaw, I gather my suitable logs, mill them to pieces to be mounted on my lathe. They are rough-turned to a bowl shape of my choosing, are partially sealed and set aside to dry, during which time the rough bowl will warp as it settles into its relaxed, dry state. This takes about 18 months, after which it is returned to the lathe and turned to its final thickness and shape, sanded, after which an all-natural finish is applied. Time, from start to finish, is about two years.

I’m thrilled to have settled into this mode of creativity, where I have such total control and responsibility. Between nature’s beauty and the finished piece is only the craftsman, me. I couldn’t be more thrilled.