I rented a room in an old house close to downtown Palmer (with indoor plumbing) and made the salad for dinner in this beautiful hand-carved wooden bowl. The artist engraved his name on the bottom so I did a little research on him.
From the Modern Times website:
George W. Federoff Inlaid Wood Bowl
USA c. 1950s
This unique hand carved wood bowl has inlays of walrus and mastadon ivory in the handles and ladels. It was made by George W. Federoff b. 1906 St. Petersburg, Russia.
In 1947 George moved to Sitka, Alaska as an artist employed by the Dept of Interior assigned to reinvigorate the interest of native craft. His work there inspired him to the forms and materials of the culture, and after six years he resigned his position and became an independent craftsman, working from his home in Sitka. His tools were mostly handmade, keeping with the historical tradition. He did also use power tools, but sparingly.
"The subtle variations of form and surfaces are often destroyed by pure mechanical process."
Aside from the distinctive forms, his inlay of walrus and mastadon ivory was a unique revival in native handmade woodware. By the late 1950s his work was shown in several permanent museum collections, the Museum of Contemporary Craft, NY and a prize winning exhibition at the Walker Arts Center in MN.
This beautiful bowl is priceless and museum quality. The salad was a simple head lettuce, tomatoes, Best Food mayo and black ground pepper variety.