Our beloved Earth and Space Science teacher, Mr. Barany, picked up a new hobby over quarantine: crafting hand-made bowls.

Woodwork is something he grew up around because of his grandfather, and the hobby has been a pass time that’s stuck with him since. “I spend a lot of time outside. I like trees, I like nature,” Barany says, “so to work with wood was pretty natural.” He started with making spoons and basic furniture before moving on to things like Charcuterie boards and now, bowls. “I accidentally wandered into becoming a professional artist, I guess.”

Mr. Barany’s process is definitely time-consuming and takes diligent work. He starts with cutting down a tree, either in the woods or from friends and family members, and begins the process of cutting it up. “You have to cut it up in the right shape, so you can mount it. Then, you mount it in the lathe and you turn it into a cylinder-like shape.” He then checks to see if he needs to fill any cracks with epoxy before carving the exterior. “Then you carve the interior, then you carve the bottom,” he stated.  “And then you buff it, sand it, and seal it.”

Barany has also begun selling his pieces online and at a local gallery. “I’ve sold them off my Instagram to friends, family, and people locally, and then this January, my dad went into the Madaras Gallery in central Tucson and noticed they were selling bowls. He thought, “My son’s doing better work than this,” and hooked me up with their phone number.” Barany contacted the gallery, took nine bowls down last month, and as of last weekend has sold three of them. “It’s almost outrageous, they’re selling them for like $250 a bowl.” Barany sells them himself in the $120-$125 price range.

“I honestly think this is all kind of cool,” the teacher/craftsman stated. “I make efforts at lots of things in life, and they go unappreciated or unpaid for, y’know? No one pays you to surf, or rock climb, and even here not a lot of people are saying “Hey, good work!,” so to actually make something and spend time on it, and then to have someone say “Hey, I’ll give you money for that,” because it’s beautiful, it’s unlike anything that’s ever happened in my life.

For anyone interested in admiring or purchasing Barany’s work, you can find him on Instagram @baranys_bowls or head up to Madaras Gallery on Fort Lowell and Swan.