Gene Blickenstaff, M.D. began working with wood in 1981 with an interest in furniture, clocks, and small boxes. Ten years later his interest in turning wood bowls began after visiting friends who owned a large bowl made from a Norfolk Island (Star) Pine tree grown in Hawaii. After experimentation with both Hawaiian Star Pine as well as Southern California-grown Star Pine, Gene Blickenstaff now turns bowls from both trees, enjoying the subtle differences between the two. The bowl walls have been turned to about one-eighth inch thickness, which allows for the finished product to become translucent, as if lit from within.