Spencer Peterman

Spencer Peterman has a knack for spotting beauty where most people see only decay. When he finds a fallen tree —moss‑covered and weathered, he gets genuinely excited. Inside those logs is wood transformed by time and nature, its grain marked by early stages of decomposition. When Spencer turns that wood on the lathe, it becomes a bowl with striking, one‑of‑a‑kind character.
Nearly all of the wood he works with comes from locally fallen trees in Western Massachusetts—maple, cherry, black walnut, and more. The maple bowls, in particular, reveal dramatic patterns created by aging and decomposition, known as “ambrosia” or “spalting.” These natural markings are part of what makes each piece unique.