We were bicycling in Lunenberg, Nova Scotia on a brilliant fall afternoon when we stopped to stroll along the waterfront. Inside one of the shops, we spied Ozzie’s wonderful bowl work. I wrote down an address and knew that the next day would be spent finding Ozzie’s studio.

The next morning we strolled down the hill from our lodging in order to check out the local organic farmers' market. The market was set along the waterfront and was a festival of activity. We enjoyed meeting the folks from the surrounding areas and hearing their stories. We were starting to get desperate, though, for information on finding Ozzie Hardy.

John, at the Manse in Mahone Bay, helped us out. We had a long lunch in the village and then set out on our bikes on a very scenic loop road around Mahone Bay. With the help of a boatman, we located Ozzie's house, and we spent a delightful afternoon with Ozzie and his wife and cats. After stacking firewood all day, we settled down to a tour of his shop and inventory of bowls. Ozzie took us out to his shop and walked me through all of his steps. I didn't realize that it takes over a year to create one of these bowls. The wood has to be worked and then allowed to season before being worked again.

We retired to a bench in his backyard. Ozzie talked about how he found the burls and the adventures that he had in finding them. He gave us a few tips on things to see in the area and some "life advice."

Here is what Ozzie has to say about wood burls which are the starting point for his work: “Burls are the pearls of the forest. They are unusual growths that may appear anywhere on the tree. They consist of masses of either dormant buds or unusual grain patterns caused by the wood “knitting” together to heal itself. There is no alignment of wood fiber so objects created from them are unpredictable in color and pattern.”

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$160

$90