The Paulownia tree is sometimes considered a weed tree. However it is also known as the "princess tree”. In Japan, there was a tradition to plant a Paulownia tree when a baby girl was born. The tree and the girl would grow up together; when the girl was ready for marriage, the tree would be cut down and made into a marriage chest for her to store her delicate silk garments.

While the marriage chest is a thing of the past, the paulownia retains its symbolic power. Paulownia branches are depicted in the in the seal of the office of the Prime Minister, and in the emblem of the Japanese government. Paulownia wood is used to make a variety of high-quality wood products.

Pip (photos 1-4), Peep (photos 1-2, 5-6), Sweet P. (photos 1-2, 7), Ridgeline (photos 8-9), Dot (photos 10): Re-imagining the Discarded. Our landscaper friend Dixon delivered a large trunk of a Paulownia tree to our driveway 20+ years ago - we kept it for a while, recently rediscovered it in the loft of the garage and decided to put it on the lathe. These bowls are approximately 5." in diameter x 2" deep.

Invading Princess (photos 11-13): We stopped in to see our friend Greg, who has a sawmill in Glen Mills, PA. He tossed us a big chunk of Paulownia — he was just using it as a doorstop and thought we could make better use of it. Of course, we cut it in half and put each half on the lathe. This bowl is approximately 8.25” x 8” x 5.25”. The Princess currently resides in Vermont.

Empress Gold (photos 14-16) is approximately 7” in diameter x 6” deep.  Our dear friend, Betsy Hinsey of Happy Creek Farm Studio, eats her breakfast from this bowl every morning. This makes us very happy.