{"product_id":"the-witness-west-virginia-white-oak-turnabout-shot-glass","title":"The Witness — West Virginia White Oak Turnabout Shot Glass","description":"\u003ch2\u003eStory \/ Provenance\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhite Oak once stood among the trees used to witness boundaries in the forests of what became West Virginia—living markers of place, recorded because they endured.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis piece carries its own kind of record.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe wood came from a West Virginia source who gathered Oak, Walnut, and Hickory from the region. Somewhere in the middle of this unusually tall blank, however, a substantial section was missing. Removing the entire damaged portion would also have meant giving up much of the sound wood around it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo the void became part of the design.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRather than shortening the blank, I turned through the interruption and followed what remained. A narrow waist emerged where the missing wood had been, leaving a vessel at either end.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhite Oak was the most frequently recorded witness-tree species in a U.S. Forest Service study of early surveys from land that later became the Monongahela National Forest.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAbout This Piece\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe larger end is the natural home for a pour of whiskey. Turn \u003cstrong\u003eThe Witness\u003c\/strong\u003e over and the smaller end offers another possibility—a tasting pour, aperitif, digestif, or simply the unexpected second vessel left behind by the making.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe knot still crosses the transition around the narrowed center, almost marking where the original blank changed course.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd then there is the grain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBroad oak rays sweep through the piece with spectacular figure, catching the light differently as the vessel turns. In a wood once used to mark boundaries and place, those visible lines feel especially appropriate: another record held in the material.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Witness\u003c\/strong\u003e belongs to \u003cem\u003eThe Gathering\u003c\/em\u003e because its story is not simply about where the wood came from. It is about what was gathered, what was lost, and what was worth keeping.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eDetails\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWood:\u003c\/strong\u003e White Oak, white-oak group (\u003cem\u003eQuercus\u003c\/em\u003e spp.)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOrigin:\u003c\/strong\u003e West Virginia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e Approx. 5-1\/4\" tall × 2\" diameter\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConstruction:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hand-turned, one of one\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eForm:\u003c\/strong\u003e Turnabout vessel with drinking chambers at both ends\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWood treatment:\u003c\/strong\u003e Stabilized\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFinish:\u003c\/strong\u003e Walnut oil, beeswax, and carnauba wax\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCollection:\u003c\/strong\u003e The Gathering\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gentry Crafted","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49074418483455,"sku":"GCWhiteOakWitnessSG","price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0702\/2808\/2943\/files\/the-witness-white-oak-turnabout-img-03554.jpg?v=1789184620","url":"https:\/\/gentrycrafted.com\/products\/the-witness-west-virginia-white-oak-turnabout-shot-glass","provider":"Gentry Crafted","version":"1.0","type":"link"}