Pecan Island native creates unique wooden bowls

About a year ago, Pecan Island resident Neil Bourque purchased a woodworking lathe and decided to try his hand at a new hobby.
Since then, he has created many beautiful bowls, vases, boxes with lids, and even miniature pieces such as Christmas trees and bats – all out of wood. Some of his pieces are even on display at the Vermilionville gift shop!
Neil’s brother Fenton, who lives in Tennessee, had been working with wood for a few years and would talk about it often, but it wasn’t until a winter storm blew down a Pecan and Oak tree in Neil’s yard that he decided to try it. “I didn’t want to see all the wood go to waste,” Bourque explains, “So I bought a wood lathe. I tried it, and liked it, so I bought an even bigger one!”
Woodworking quickly became an enjoyable hobby for Neil, who is retired after working 34 years for Exxon Mobil. He is grateful to Fenton for introducing him to the trade. “I have to give credit to my brother for showing me the tricks, giving me pointers, and teaching me how to turn wood.”
Aside from his brother’s instructions, Neil has no formal training in his craft, and instead is learning through hands-on application. Bourque has made items from various different types of wood including ash, oak, pecan, black walnut, walnut, cherry, cedar, cypress, and hickory. He uses fallen trees from the surrounding area, and also trades wood with his brother when he visits from Tennessee.
Neil splits trees into logs, and allows them to dry before trying to make something out of it. He says that if used immediately, it could be too moist and cause the finished product to split. When a log is ready for use, he mounts it on the wood lathe which is a machine device that rotates the piece. He then begins to shape the wood using different tools, in a process referred to as turning.
Bourque says that when he sits down to turn a piece of wood, he doesn’t always know what the finished product will be. Most often, he just waits to see how the wood takes shape during the turning process. As a result, no two pieces look exactly alike. “When people tell me that I do beautiful work,” Neil reveals, “I tell them it’s not me. It is Mother Nature that does the work. The bowl or vase was in the wood already, and I just got it out of there. I can’t take the credit for the beauty; I just help to bring it out.”
After Neil completes a piece, his wife Susan applies any finishing touches. “I might make the bowls, but it’s my wife who truly makes them stand out.” Susan smoothes out any rough spots, often with a dremel rotary tool, applies a finish or sealant, and occasionally even burns an image or design into the piece. The Bourques have tried many finishes over the past year including olive oil, mineral oil, butcher block oil, Johnson floor wax, and shellac. Even though all the finishes are non-toxic, Neil makes his bowls for decorative use only and they are not intended for food.
Neil has an outdoor work space, as his hobby can be very messy. The process produces a lot of wood shavings, which he gathers and recycles as mulch. He wears safety goggles, dust mask, and protective clothing since there is always a chance that a spinning log could shatter. Despite the risk, Bourque’s hobby has never injured him and he fully anticipates expanding his woodworking in the future.
When he first started, Neil’s wife wanted to keep everything he made but they soon ran out of room! Now, the Bourques give away pieces as gifts. They also sell a few of their creations at the local farmers markets, under the name Wood Knot. He features his work on his Facebook page, and can be contacted at woodknot101@yahoo.com for further information.
Currently, Neil is working with cedar wood which he loves the smell and feel of. However, Bourque says he can’t really pick just one favorite type of wood. He finds, “There is beauty in all wood.”