The lag since my last post along with the reports of Ida rains drenching Pennsylvania led some folks to kindly email me to see if all was well. The upper edge of Ida’s swath fell short of us here in northwestern PA, by maybe 30 miles. Not a drop. And the pause in posts was not due to water, but rather a concentrated flood of other stuff, mainly the first couple busy weeks of the school year.

I did manage to finish up the three pieces in the photo above and they’re now in a box on the way to New Hampshire for the Into the Woods exhibition hosted by Two Villages Art Society.

Here are a few more photos of the three pieces I’m sending up:

This medium-sized (13 1/2″ x 8 1/4″ x 4 1/2″) cherry bowl has lots of character streaks, so I didn’t interfere with any decorative carving, just the texture from the tools and the raised line running between the lower corners of the handles.

This little bird bowl came from a maple branch with a tight bend. The tail rises up with the flow of the fibers to about 5″ high.

The third piece, a long ladle, came from the piece in the photo above, split from a maple branch crook. I knew the bowl would be down in the tight bend area in the middle, but I had to think a lot about which end would become the handle and which end would be lopped off. I went with the lower end, deciding to run with the slow waves in the fibers there. After some more careful splitting and, of course, carving, the flow was still there in the ladle:

It’s actually very comfortable to use — for right-handers. Light but strong. 13″ x 2 3/4″.

While I did my best to make this bit of tree useful and beautiful in its “second life”, I got to thinking about how it pales in comparison to the living tree. And I started imagining the memories that this piece might have from its years high in the treetop. Then I grabbed my penknife — and my “cheater” glasses, the smaller letters being maybe 3/8″ high — and carved the lettering into the handle.

So, if you’re in the neighborhood of Hopkinton, NH, stop in and check out the show. I don’t know what the rules will be there, but I hope you can touch and hold the pieces. Truly, that is much of experiencing any work like this. Maybe they’ll have a big sign up that reads, “Please Touch.”