What comes off the lathe
Bowls, vessels, vases and jars, each one built from cut segments before it is ever turned.
Unique and original wooden bowls, vases and hollow vessels
Handcrafted segmented designs in domestic and exotic woods, turned one at a time by David Kohler in Phoenix, Arizona.
FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING
On every order over $350, anywhere in the United States.
SEGMENTED CONSTRUCTION
Hundreds of small pieces cut, arranged and glued before turning.
ONE OF A KIND
Every vessel is designed and turned on its own. No two are alike.
Meet the Artist
Uniquely designed and turned wooden bowls, vases, pots and other hollow vessels, made by David Kohler in Phoenix, Arizona.
My focus is on creating pieces with form and colour as the key design elements. Inspiration for these vessels comes from Native American, Greek, Aztec and other cultures pottery.
The materials are a combination of domestic and exotic woods from around the world, selected for colour, availability and sustainability. The natural colours in these woods are what allow the patterns and designs to be created.
No stains, no paint
Everything you see in these vessels is timber. The colour, the pattern and the line all come out of the wood itself and the way the blank was built.
Colour that comes from the wood
No stains and no paint. The natural colours in these woods are what make the patterns possible.
Sustainably sourced timber
Wood harvested from sustainable forests and managed plantations running sound reforestation programs.
Turned one at a time
Each blank is built and turned individually, which is why no two vessels ever come out the same.
How a piece is made
Nothing here is carved or painted. Every pattern is cut, arranged and glued into the blank before the form is turned away.
STEP 01
Choosing the wood
Domestic hardwoods and imported exotics, chosen for colour, availability and sustainability.
STEP 02
Cutting the segments
Boards are cut down into many smaller pieces, ready to be rearranged into something new.
STEP 03
Building the blank
Those pieces are arranged and glued up ring by ring into the form that becomes my blank canvas.
STEP 04
Turning the vessel
The shape emerges on the lathe, and the pattern built into the wood appears with it.
Question? Answered
How the work is made, what goes into it, and how to get hold of a piece.
It is a technique known as polychromatic woodturning, or segmented construction. Boards are cut into many smaller pieces and rearranged into a form that serves as the blank canvas. That blank is then turned on the lathe, and the pattern built into it emerges as the shape is cut away. My current work is exclusively segmented turning.
A combination of domestic and exotic woods from around the world, selected for colour, availability and sustainability. Most of the exotics and imported woods come from local suppliers in the Phoenix area, and the American hardwoods come from resellers of the same species furniture has been built from for generations. Newer pieces also incorporate dyed birch veneers.
No. The natural colours in the woods are what allow the patterns and designs in the bowls, pots and vases to be created. Where you see stronger colour, such as the blues and oranges, that is dyed birch veneer laminated into the blank rather than a finish applied to the surface.
Yes. Domestic shipping is free on all orders over $350.
I exhibit at fine art festivals around Arizona. For 2026 that is the Wigwam Festival of Fine Art in Litchfield Park in February, the Fountain Festival of Fine Arts and Crafts in Fountain Hills later that month, and the High Street Arts Festival in Phoenix in March. Full dates and times are on the Shows page.
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