keep alive

just a cool post to keep this blog alive.

Walnutsarious Rex in Walnut

150 - I always considered this a variation on the tulip salad set, but a young boy looked at this and said dinosaur. I never thought of it like that, but the name stuck

151 - Oak Jester - this is a popular spoon that I have carved in the past.

152 - Daisy in Walnut - this was my first attempt a something other then a tulip. I was happy with the result. I have this idea of a vase of spoons and greenery...

153 - Yellowheart - I really see some influence here from India. I liked it so much I kept this one for my own collection. That means I use it in the kitchen.

154 - Readheart paring knife - something completely different. I plan to do some more work like this over the winter. This is #1, but quite nice, but expect much more in the future.

I somehow got confused on the numbers and pictures so this is a reset which is why I started at 150. I am contemplating only uploading those spoons that really stand out to cut down on this process. I would much rather carve.

More oak

I am doing a farmer market on Wednesday on 14th and South Street from 5pm until dusk. Thus the posting to get up to date. I first thought I had not competed may spoons in the last thirty days, I was wrong

144 - Rustic Oak - reminds me of something you might find in an old cabin
145 - Oak paddle - great for stirring or spanking

Obviously, I need to stop posting now before the silly me takes hold...rod

143 - Trio of Oak

3 spoons carved as a set. These are not left completely natural, but somewhat in between the elegant and rustic look. They turned out great and I am having a hard time parting with them.

Small and walnut

OK, I could not resist some more walnut. I am running out of the more unique wood, but can not seem to quit carving.

141 - Small walnut scoop
142 - Walnut coffee spoon sized for coffee grounds

Walnut is one of my favorite woods along with Lacewood and Ash. Others include Redheart and Tulipwood. My dislikes are Yellowheart and especially Purpleheart. These 2 woods are hard as marble and such evil on hand tools. I do not like to use electricity, so my work is slow and quite. Woods I would like to try are pear and apple - have some?

140 - Ash Ladle

Here is a beast or beauty spoon. It is somewhat larger then intended, but great none the less. It has a reverse bend which makes the ladle not a ladle, but it sure looks cool. This is some of the last Tornado Ash from the Hallam tornadoes. I have enough to make a couple of more spoons and then that is it.

Coffee spoons

Here are a few small spoons I have been working on. They are just the right size to scoop coffee grounds in the morning.

137 - Catalpa with Ladybug - hand carved and stained lady bug on the bowl
138 - Redheart smoothy - scrapped and oiled
139 - Redheart natural - tool marks left visible

Catalpa is native to the middle eastern US and is sometime referred to as a weed tree. That is undeserved as it makes a nice fast growing shade tree

Readheart is native to Central America and has some great tones of read and black that swirl. On the other hand it smells nasty when you cut it - yuck...

136 - Ash Ladle

Here is a beautiful ash ladle that took a very long time to shape into a spoon. I finished it with a Japanese braid in hemp. It was cut from the crotch of a fallen old ash downed on the Hallam tornadoes. It is one of my new favorites.

Busy August but still some spoons completed

134 - Lacewood Lollipop. This is a neat design I have tried with varying degrees of success. It is somewhat contempory, but handles well.

135 - Lacewood Tulip Salad set. This is another set in Lacewood. It is the last of my supply for a while

Misc spoons in the heart of summer

I have been traveling a lot for my other job, and it is too hot to carve outside. Thus my production has somewhat decreased. Here are some spoons I have carved in the last few weeks. Some are left rough and others are smooth - it depends on my mood and the wood.

From top to bottom
128 - Oak tulip spoon
129 - Oak Saute - interesting in that some bark was kept which really set this spoon apart
130 - Oak fork - left rough carved with very distinct colors for oak

131 - Yellowheart Saute. Another yellowheart creation from the last of my supply
132 - Walnut shorty - Large spoon, small handle, fun to carve, let rough
133 - Pecan bundle - a couple of spoons, a stirring spoon, and a fork. Pecan is very strong wood and can be carved thin. I had fun carving these and decided to make them a set.

Mess of spoons 2

Here is the last of the inventory, plus a couple of newer ones. The theme here is walnut, and really brings to light that I need lay off the walnut for a while.

Front to back

123 - Walnut serving spoon
124 - Walnut ladle
125 - Walnut soup spoon
126 - Sprout in walnut (reminds me of a newly sprouted seed)
127 - flower bud (small spoon inspired by flower bulbs)

Netsuke

Here a picture of another woodcarving hobby of mine. It is more of a winter thing, or when the inspiration hits me.

A very short history: Back in Feudal Japan you where not allowed to show your wealth or status openly (not a bad idea if your ask me). Anyway, kimono where all the rage in fashion and had no pockets. So a small purse like item was hung from the wearer's belt (called sagemono or inro). The Netsuke keep it from slipping off the belt (obi). The decorative bead at the end was to close the inro and the it is called an ojime. My take on the cord that attached all of this is an ancient Japanese braiding technique called kumihimo. They consist of braided silk using 16 - 32 strands (you can do more!). Enough history.

Needless to say I use very small tools to carve these items and they take a long time to complete. Each one is about 1 1/2" high.

Mess of spoons

Here is a collection of spoons from prior to my inventory process. They where all at a small art gallery in south Lincoln. Unfortunately, it recently closed and thus my influx. I also have spoons in a another gallery in downtown Lincoln (So Oh). This is a new venture for me so we will see how it materializes. Anyhow from front to back:

119 - Oak saute. This is the boat oar shape that is perfect for stir fry
120 - Lacewood Tulip. Spoon carved as flower.
121 - Tulipwood fork. Hard to get wood. Expensive, but beautiful.
122 - Walnut Tulip Salad set

118 - Sugar toad

Walnut and poplar together to create the seldom seen and rare sugar toad.

117 - Shallow Ash Ladle

Here is a small ladle I carved from ash. It was cut from a ugly piece of firewood that had been sitting outside for an unknown number of years. The wood had a natural bend to it being a slice of crotch (where the trunk and a branch meet). I rather like it and it is staying with me.

116 - Jester in Yellowheart

Here is a new one that I have only done a few of... This picture does not show the nice sweeping overall shape of the spoon. I think I need to build a light box this week.

The jester name was inspired from the first carving I did of this general shape. It reminded me of a jester's hat and the name stuck.

This spoon is carved in Yellowheart from Brazil. It is pretty obvious where the name comes from and the yellow color is striking. Yellowheart is very hard and strong. It required that I break out the mallet and larger tools. The results are always the same - beautiful.