Two small turnings.  The vase on the left, about 5″ tall, is made of elm crotch, given a light cherry stain, then polished and waxed.  On this piece, reversed several times on the lathe, it was a trifle uneven once meaning that there is a spot near the top where the wood is literally paper thin, enough to let light thru; I got lucky.

The smaller vase, about 4″ tall, is made from a piece of curly walnut, found on the fireplace wood pile.The curly piece was small, palm sized. I looked at it for a long time before I turned it. It was sanded to 400, given a thin coat of tung oil, then polished and waxed, using the Beall system.