Separated at birth?

A few years ago, during a moment when I was a tiny bit bored with crafting bowls, I came across a few smaller pieces of maple burls that had been tucked towards the back of my small storage area. I had kept these pieces around, despite knowing that they were probably too small for bowls, and the fact that I really had know idea if they might have any use at all. In looking at them the second time around, I wondered if their shapes might work for well for small decorative vases, and decided to give it a try. After drilling out the center with a Forstner bit, I proceeded to carve the outside surfaces, following the graining in a way that created an organic look and feel. The next step was to carve the inside to match the flow of the outside, followed by hours and hours of sanding both the interior and exterior, and then a hand-rubbed tung oil finish. Fortunately the results were well worth the effort, leading to time spent creating several iterations of the original piece. Unfortunately, the laborious process likely contributed to a pinched nerve situation, and a few months of therapy. 

Flash forward to July 30th, when I was walking the PA Guild Fine Craft Show in Wilmington, DE, and came across the across the work of Kurt Brantner, a craftsman from Central PA who specializes in pottery produced in a wood-fired kiln. The first thing that caught my eye was a sinuously shaped vase that felt like the ceramic twin of one of my own carved wood creations. For some reason, it was such a fun moment, recognizing the similar aesthetics of the two pieces, created from entirely different mediums, with completely unrelated inspirations. Kurt's vase will now be added to the existing grouping, providing a pleasing visual reminder of the discovery. More of his amazing work can be seen at kurtbrantnerpottery.com