Birch Ale Bowl with hand carved "heart flower" motif

A truly special piece. This lovely little white birch bowl is extensively carved and painted. A hand-carved "heart flower" motif wraps around the belly of the bowl, and the inside and outside are painted with food-safe milk paint: plum on the inside and dragonfly and parchment on the outside.

We love the use, and rich colors, of this ancient paint incorporated by Goodson Woodcraft. Milk Paint is a wood finish that, in bygone days, would combine natural pigments with a farmer's milk and other locally sourced ingredients. It is environmentally friendly & is a sustainable material from a craft perspective. This paint will not flake off (unless of course, you want to give it a chipped antique finish...), will not peel, will provide a country-style finish, an antique patina, natural and the deep colors, tones and textures only available with milk paint and natural pigments. 

Inspired by European, especially Norse, “ale bowls” that migrated with early settlers. Many European cultures have a long history of drinking from bowls. For example, the modern French café au lait “cup” is a hold-over of this tradition.

These bowls are exceedingly time-consuming to create and as such, very limited in their availability. Appx 6 3/8" x 2 3/8"