The bowl must weigh about the same as a baby elephant at birth. And it was bottom-heavy like one of this Kardashians we see in the entertainment news. It was simply a beast to deal with when I’m accustomed to a dainty fragrance bottle or a relatively feather-wight wine bottle on my pillow.
In this view, eye-level is just above the bottom of the bowl. You’re seeing the engraving on the near side of the bow. Because of the long message and the customer’s required emphasis on the word Love and Fairytale, it took the names and the wedding date to near the bottom of the bowl.
I first determined where I wanted each baseline to go, one at a time. I turned the bowl upside down on a smooth table surface and with my hand on a growing stack of books for each new line, I positioned the pen precisely in my hand at the position for the point to match my mark on the bowl. I then spun the bowl around , keeping the pen firmly against the bowl in the processto draw the top guideline.
As I moved UP on the upside down bowl, I had to add a thin book or two to align my hand to match the pen to the next line’s position. Etc., Etc. Etc.!
With the bowl uprighted for engraving, it was so bottom-heavy it would NOT lie on its side. Finally, I had to put two heavy engraving pillows inside the bowl, then shove it up to brace it against my bur cabinet on my table. Another pillow was shoved up under it to keep in on its side.
With the engraving side so high in the air, I had to stack a couple of books and a pillow on top of it to position my hand comfortably to engrave the words. The results were less than what I wanted but the customer will be thrilled. Until I present her with the bill.
I’m still working on what the number is, not to cause a cardiac in a good, repeat customer.
BOTTOM LINE: With all my years of experience, this was a first for this exact challenge. I’ll think a bit more deeply about the next bowl that comes along. The arranging and the layout took more time than the engraving that was difficult as well!
