Thirty years of classroom teaching has taught me the importance of preparation. As I’ve readied for next week’s inaugural bird bowl class at Peter Galbert’s, one of my fun tasks has been getting bird bowl examples finished. There’s a few chickens above. If you see them crossing the road, you’ll know where they’re heading.
In a post last month, I showed these in the raw basswood stage. Plain basswood can be a little lackluster, so I played around with some different milk paint techniques and combinations. We’ll be exploring those in class. I’ve also used artist oils (linseed oil paint) before, but the dry time would make it inconvenient for a class setting as students pack their still-wet painted bowls into luggage.
Likewise, starting with green wood wouldn’t allow us to finish pieces during our week together. Starting with dry 4″ x 6″ basswood (a.k.a. linden or limewood) blocks, allows us to remove bulk relatively quickly and move forward to the finished piece. And the ease of obtaining material will make these designs more accessible beyond class as well. All of these chickens are 11-12″ long. A brief digression: There’s something about that photo above that reminds me of an 80’s movie:
The twins looking away.
A reminder to be careful in the heat this week.
There will be several other non-chicken birds going as well.
And even though we won’t be carving from green branch crooks, our methods will translate to that sort of work as well. So I’ll have some examples and we’ll be discussing the considerations for working with green wood and the possibilities presented by crooks. As an example, I carved this little goose-inspired bowl from a crooked bit of American sycamore. Like a spoon with a tail.
That crooked bit of American sycamore.
There’s a shot of the upper surface shaved and ready for some layout lines.
And, while on the subject of crooks, I finally finished a bowl I roughed out from a cherry tree crotch (above) a year-and-a-half ago. I wrote about that process in a post back then.
There’s the finished bowl, above, along with a few more shots in the slideshow below.
This one will be flying close by my side on the way to Pete’s and back. We’ll be revisiting many of these birds on the blog, in time.
David Fisher, Carving Explorations 
well lucky students and what beautiful bowls would like to sweep them all up–in my dreams–and they must be fun to do.
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Hi David,
Great work!
Do you ever sell your pieces, does one need to commision a piece?
Thanks
Russ Heisinger
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Yes, I sell pieces, Russ. Thanks for your interest. When I have a new piece that is available, I announce it through a blog post. At least some of the birds in this post will be for sale eventually. I’ll sort that out later after the class.
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Winged beauty — how lovely to contemplate these photos. Thank you, as always. Sue in Chapel Hill (where it is pretty hot right now…)
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David,
Absolutely stunning!
Pat
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Dave, so glad you are offering this bird bowl class. The group is in for a real treat. Your post made my laugh as I contemplated the twins and took in your warning about the coming heat with the chicken on its back. Maybe it will be cooler where you will be teaching. I love that painted eye line on a few of the birds. Blessings on your time there. Glenn
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Thank you, Glenn. Even Maine is going to get the heat, but Pete is prepared.
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Absolutely stunning, as always. Do you have a favorite milk paint? I’ve settled on The Old Fashioned Milk Paint, seems to give a better “ceramic” look and feel.
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Jay, I’m happy with The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company. I think one of it’s strengths is it’s ability to burnish easily. I’ve used Real Milk Paint Company and I like it too. Pete Gilbert knows a lot more about milk paint than me. He wrote a blog post a few months ago comparing Old Fashioned vs Real Milk Paint Company based on his experience. The gist is that both have their strengths.
I know what you’re using looks great on your turned trees.
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The bird you made from the deep crook inspires me to try making a wren bowl, a fat little compact bird with a straight-up tail. I just came home from a music and dance camp in the redwoods in California, and we had house wrens zipping past us all week. Wish I could be there for the bird class. It sounds great!
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A wren is serenading me as I type this, Kalia. Glad to hear they’re doing the same in California. Good luck with the wren-inspired bowl. I had a good crook for that sort of thing a few years ago: https://davidffisher.com/2019/11/28/thankful-for-birds-and-trees/
Lots of fun.
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Such a beauty! I may have missed this post when it first came out. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for a wee wren-sized crook to play with.
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I’m catching up on my Fisher Posts…life keeps getting in the way. Thanks for the impressive showcase, Dave. It’s a good shot of creative elixir. Just what the doctor ordered.
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Glad to hear it, Chris! Thanks.
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