Category Archives: ale bowls

Duckling Revisited

The ducklings liked the new island so much that they decided to live there. All day long they follow the swan boats and eat peanuts. Robert McCloskey, Make Way for Ducklings (1941) As I finished this latest little duck bowl, … Continue reading

Posted in ale bowls, bird bowls, cherry, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Nine, Ten, A …

I’ve made a number of these hen bowls now since the first one six years ago. Different wood species, some painted, some natural. It’s been interesting to take the same design concept and push, pull, and stretch it in different … Continue reading

Posted in ale bowls, bird bowls, proportions, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Fluted Dragon

Here’s the ale bowl from my recent post on orthodontics, now completed.  I carved flutes along the exterior of this one.  The gouge I use for fluting depends upon the effect I want and the curvature of the exterior itself.  … Continue reading

Posted in ale bowls, cherry, patterns, proportions, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Dragon Orthodontics

I roughed out this cherry ale bowl during the green stage months ago, and now I’ve gotten around to refining it in the dry stage, including carving a set of choppers, a point of pride for any dragon. After sketching … Continue reading

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Maple Hen

I just finished a hen bowl in maple and left it natural except for the bit of red paint on the comb.  Besides the lack of paint on the body, I made a couple other changes compared to those I’ve … Continue reading

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Before-and-After Dragon

I’ve completed the carving on one of the cherry dragon ale bowls I roughed out a month ago, and thought I’d share a few photos to contrast the piece after the final carving with its unfinished twin.  The same ideas … Continue reading

Posted in ale bowls, cherry, drying, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 23 Comments

Three in the Rough

I’ve had some ale bowl requests on the backburner for far too long now, so while I had some cooperative cherry around I decided to rough out three at once.  That makes it sound much more straightforward than it is.  … Continue reading

Posted in ale bowls, cherry, holding, layout, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 15 Comments

Revisiting the Ale Duck

It had been a while since I carved an ale bowl, so it was fun to make another recently, in this case an ale duck.  I’ve written several posts about ale bowls, including some that go into my carving process, but  … Continue reading

Posted in ale bowls, bird bowls, carving, cherry, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Learning from Fred Astaire

Seeing this ale bowl basking in the sun, my wife asked my daughter what she thought of the new dragon bowl.  Emma replied, “What dragon bowl?”  Wonderful. What Emma noticed were the flowing lines and the form, and only after … Continue reading

Posted in ale bowls, bowls, cherry, patterns, proportions, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Workhorses

I’ve carved several of these horse-head ale bowls now, and each one seems to end up with it’s own personality.  Much of that, thankfully, happens in spite of me.  Each log is different, imparting it’s character on the finished piece.  … Continue reading

Posted in ale bowls, bowls, cherry, historical reference, patterns, Uncategorized, video | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments