Using A Wooden Dough Bowl For Chic Southwestern Interior Design In Your Home

The wooden dough bowl is a true representation of items used in a typical Native American home. In the Sierra Madre mountain region of Northern Mexico, the Tarahumara people have primitive lifestyles and live in modest dwellings. They support themselves by making crafts to sell like the wooden dough bowl. I have always loved the unique baskets, weavings, jewelry and other hand-made items produced by this Tribe. It is fascinating that although the women are the primary crafters in the family, the Tarahumara men enjoy working with wood and produce exquisite pieces of art using primitive style, simple tools. Like the wooden dough bowls, they also make wooden spoons, figurines and traditional game balls used in the world renowned foot races. These items made of wood have a rustic beauty, brought out by the characteristics of the wood.

You will also find it fascinating how the traditional dough bowls are created. The fashioning of the wooden bowl is begun by hand carving a piece of native yellow pine taken from a fallen tree trunk. Native log bowls are made by cutting the trunk in half and then roughly chopping it with an axe. The wood is then carved into a rounded shape with a machete or large knife, giving it that one of a kind, rough and hand-crafted aspect. This classic style is the same way that all dough bowls have been created throughout the Sierra Madre for generations.

As you study these interesting Native people, you will discover that the wood dough bowl has an important part in the Tarahumara household. It is used in the process of hand-grinding corn and wheat to make hand-made tortillas, an essential part to the Tarahumara diet. They then begin by smashing the kernels into a stone bowl called a metate. The dough bowl is then placed at one end of the metate to catch the corn or wheat flour as it is ground by hand. Water is then added to the flour in the bowl and tortillas are made by hand from the mix. Although still used by the Tarahumara Indians for kneading dough and other cooking purposes, today dough bowls are offered to the public for rustic decorating accessories and as Indian art for collection.

You can use dough bowls for a number of things. They are great as collectibles, fruit bowls, and when combined with home decorating items. They are also good for art projects when a blank canvas is needed for rustic style paintings and other Native American style art. Dough bowls, painted with Native American type scenes, are very unique and are an interesting way to bring the old west to life in your home decorating. A painted dough bowl creates a beautiful focal point for any mountain style room, cabin, lodge or ranch style home by adding the rich warm colors unique to Native style art.

You can buy log dough bowls online and in various stores that sell southwestern and Native American style home decor accessories. It is easy to give genuine Native style to your home, or to give your room splash of color by simply hanging a southwestern, painted dough bowl on the wall. If you like the age-old culture and American Indian way of life, you will enjoy displaying a piece of their amazing artwork as part of your interior design. To add true Native culture to your home and bring about a look that is definitely authentic, add a rustic style wooden dough bowl to compliment your home decor.

Craig Chambers is the director of Mission Del Rey and author offering free information online about how to use a wooden dough bowl for unique American Indian home decor. For more information visit www.missiondelrey.com

Title:
Using A Wooden Dough Bowl For Chic Southwestern Interior Design In Your Home
Article Distribution and Free Web Content by www.reprint-content.com

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated