I got a barrel of flour, Lord, I got a bucket of lard.
I ain’t got no blues, got chickens in my back yard.
Jimmie Rodgers, “No Hard Times” 1932
Maybe I should have the blues; I’ve only got a little flour, no lard, and one chicken — a wooden one at that.
I shared the early stages of this catalpa bowl in a post back in September. I took a few photos the rest of the way and put them in the slide show below. You’ll have to view the actual post, out of your email program, to see the slide show.
I used a twca cam to refine the steep adn deep hollow. The variation in density of the wood between the early wood and the late wood of the growth rings can be challenging with catalpa. 
Beginning to hew the exterior shape with the carving axe. 
By taking advantage of the tendency for the wood to split away, the axe can negotiate the hollow from the body to the tail. 
Working across the grain, the adze refines the concave area… 
…and sculpts the side of the tail. 
Hewing the front half of the bird. 
Here it sits after the axe work. I went over the surfaces with a spokeshave before setting it aside to dry for a couple weeks. I covered it with an old sheet for the first few days, then removed it. 
Before removing the excess wood around the tail feathers, I had to decide on their design. The pencil lines represent various possibilities I was considering. 
Every bowl is different. Here was my arrangement for this one while I carved the flutes 
This is after my first, or roughing, pass that got rid of most of the material. The next pass will remove the rest and refine the junctions between flutes. 
The V tool separates the feathers and the gouge shapes them. Things can go wrong in a hurry if you don’t tune in to the feedback from the fibers. In this shot, I have stopped and I need to switch direction and carve back into the carved area.
On the exterior, I applied a wash of titanium white artist oil paint thinned with citrus solvent, then wiped it back revealing more of the wood along the ridges between flutes. Then linseed oil and beeswax over the whole thing. There’s something about the combination of the character of the catalpa grain and the variations in the color that give it a bit of an aged-but-cared-for appearance.
The camera picks up the reflections off of the white a little too strongly. The shot above is probably a more true representation, with the color of the wood coming through.
The hollow of the bowl is full and deep and it’s a pretty big bird. 21″ long, 8 3/4″ wide, and 6 3/4″ high.
This one is available. $850 includes shipping. Email me at dandkfish@gmail.com if you are interested. SOLD
David Fisher, Carving Explorations 
still like mine–
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Glad to hear it, Marie. Thanks!
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Do you refine the flutes with a round card scraper or the gouges keeps you satisfied. Merci/thank you
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No scraper, the flutes are straight from the gouge. In person, you can see and feel the subtle texture left by the gouge.
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I love your work, Dave. You have an eye that I much envy and I am working to develop mine. BTW, I really think Jimmy has got a “barrel” of flour. Didn’t flour come in barrels way back then?
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Thank you, Terry. And I’m sure you’re right with the “barrel” suggestion. Makes a lot more sense than a “bale” of flour! There are a lot of sites that list it as bale, but I think they must all be repeating the error. I’ve fixed it now in my reference above.
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Love the workholding creativity, as always. I had not thought of putting a hole in a doe’s foot before. It certainly looks after the single-pivot-point issues of using one holdfast, and means you don’t have to kludge up the workspace with a second one to stabilize things. Good job!
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Thanks, David. That’s exactly what I was trying to accomplish and, to my surprise, it worked! I could drill another hole for adjustability and the opposite v-notch can capture the holfast too, as in the photo near the beginning of this post: https://davidffisher.com/2020/08/18/dealing-with-interlocked-grain/
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Holy smokes! Looks fantastic Dave!❤️
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Thanks, Joel! Hard to screw up such a nice blank!
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That ole hen’s settin’ mighty nice!
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Aside from the wonderful carving, I didn’t know you are a Jimmie Rodgers fan. I, too, since purchasing my first LP of his at Rich’s Department Store in Atlanta ca.1960. It was MY ROUGH AND ROWDY WAYS. I suspect it was the image that was the attraction as I had no idea who he was (but certainly do now) and still have the LP, now much-worn!
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To be honest, Barry, until last year, I knew nothing about Jimmie Rodgers. I was introduced to him and his huge impact through Ken Burns’ 2019 documentary on Country Music. His personal story of singing while fighting tuberculosis is also poignant and inspiring. I like the clear uncluttered nature of his songs. This one really sticks in my head, although I’m sure it would sound even richer on your LP!
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David hi, Hope you and your family are fine. I don’t know if you will remember me. Maybe yes, because of Turkish delights in Greenwood fest 2016.
I had this piece of wood from the camp in Plymouth. I am not sure but it may be a birchwood. Somehow it turned out to be this spoon when I just worked with free hand, without any prior plan or design. I remember you saying that it is all about light and shadows. The smooth side of spoon can be used only if you hold it with your right hand. I know the angle of the handle is not ideal but that is how it is. Just a nostalgia. Regards Henry
29 Eki 2020 Per 23:01 tarihinde David Fisher, Carving Explorations Åunu yazdı:
> Dave Fisher posted: ” I got a bale of flour, Lord, I got a bucket of > lard.I ain’t got no blues, got chickens in my back yard.Jimmie Rodgers, “No > Hard Times” 1932 Maybe I should have the blues; I’ve only got a little > flour, no lard, and one chicken — a wooden one at th” >
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Hi Henry! Absolutely — wonderful memories! I’m sure everyone the class remembers the Turkish delight you brought all the way from home (rose flavored!). But even better was spending those days with you and carving together.
We are certainly relying on how our carving captures light and shadow for visual perception, but, as you describe here, we also perceive the piece through interaction with our hands. I’ll bet the spoon you carved was from black birch, with the smell of wintergreen in the bark. But there was also yellow birch and paper birch around I think.
It sounds like you may have attempted to attach a photograph of the spoon, but, if so, I can’t see it. If you want to try to send it to me through email, I would be happy to make it visible somehow. Regardless, I am happy to be reminded of those days and I hope you are well.
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That’s uncommonly beautiful.
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