Monthly Archives: March 2015

1974

In 1974, I hadn’t yet learned to read.  I didn’t know what I was missing.  Two books with a similar theme were published in that year, and they are both gems.  Both involve married couples traveling thousands of miles to … Continue reading

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Bottoms Up

It’s time to think about bottoms.  After all, your bowl is going to spend most of it’s life resting on it, and it is an important design consideration.  You can even add some fun designs.  Folks might even smile when they … Continue reading

Posted in bowls, cherry, layout, proportions, sketch, Uncategorized, video | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Measuring Beauty?

 The question of measuring beauty — that is objective assessment beyond “Very nice,” “Exquisite,” “This appeals to me” — has troubled scholars and other laymen at least from the time of the Greeks.  And, beginning with the Greek philosophers, there … Continue reading

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Beyond Words

When I was beginning to make things out of green wood, I purchased a couple VHS tapes from Country Workshops.  One, filmed in the Swiss mountains, follows Ruedi Kohler as his skillful hands make a coopered bucket.  The other takes the viewer … Continue reading

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Folkstreams

A visit to the Folkstreams website can provide a person with some healthy perspective.  It is a rich collection of films of varying length on a wide spectrum of traditions, including handcrafts.  There’s much more to see, but to begin … Continue reading

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A Windfall Goose

I found this stylized goose bowl in the curve of a wind-fallen cherry tree.  Usually, we think of “finding” spoons in the crooks of tree branches, but I occasionally find bowls as well. Grain flowing through the form allows for lightness, … Continue reading

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Contentment

Two old men, radiating contentment… Their trade seemed to have been a refuge for them. Perhaps their serenity came from making things that gave pleasure to others.  Or making things they knew would outlast them, give them a little power … Continue reading

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Books

I have received some emails lately asking for book recommendations, both for bowl/spoon carving and for the decorative carving that I do on some bowls.  Bear with me, and I’ll get around to some recommendations regarding bowl carving as well … Continue reading

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