It’s been a good month. I was elated to interview Ben Strano and get his thoughts on spoon carving. Please contact me if you would be interested in being interviewed about your spoon carving.
***
I purchased Jögge Sundqvist’s book Slöjd in Wood published by Lost Art Press. I can’t wait to get this book and read it in April.
***
Speaking of Jögge Sundqvist, I was bummed to miss his talk in early March in Decorah. A sick friend was the main reason that I didn’t go, but I also realized, while there is great value in taking classes, I’m at the point in my carving where I just need to put my ass in the chair and carve. I need to continue to build strength, and learn by doing, so when I take my next carving class, I can really learn from it.
***
After seeing a very cool chair on Instagram, I browsed through Mike Abbott’s book Going with the Grain: Making chairs in the 21st century. It’s a great read, but I realized how easy it is to explore a bunch of different directions with woodworking and how I need to focus just on carving spoons.
Speaking of books, here are some of my suggestions. Also, Tom Bartlett recently also put together a great list of spoon carving books too. Books are tools too, so it’s always a challenge note to splurge on them. After looking at Tom’s list, I bought the following wonderful books:
Japanese Spoons and Ladles by Masao Usui
The New Sylva by Gabriel Hemery and Sarah Simblet
Treen for the Table: Wooden Objects Relating to Eating and Drinking by Jonathan Levi
Treen, or Small Woodenware Throughout the Ages by Edward Pinto
***
I enjoyed Mortise and Tenon Magazine’s “Advice for Aspiring Writers” series. I hope that they keep adding more posts on the subject.
***
I’m looking for resources on tree and wood identification. Please contact me if you have any favor books or websites on the topic.
***
I was inspired by Cole Holliday’s recent post on Instagram that he plans to spend less time online and more time carving. I need to do the same!
***
Watched two silent carving videos with Barn Carder on the Green Wood Guild’s website. It was nice just to watch and focus more on action than words.
***
I took a sharpening class at WoodCraft but I am still freaked out by sharpening. The instructor reassured me that you usually can fix any damage done. I also bought a Peavey shingle froe.