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Category Archives: finding wood
Odd Birds (and Other Winged Things)
At first glance, this rhododendron bird bowl seems typical of other bird bowls I’ve carved, but this one was an experiment in working with crotch wood. As usual, I learned from it. There’s the huge rhododendron Y above. The area … Continue reading
Posted in bird bowls, finding wood, nature, trees, Uncategorized
13 Comments
Bird Bowl from Straight Grain
Most of the bird bowls I make come from crooks, with the form following the flow of the fibers. In designing and making this bowl, I tried to achieve similar lines and a sense of movement within the constraints of … Continue reading
Posted in bird bowls, figure, finding wood, layout, patterns, quotes and excerpts, sketch, tools, trees, Uncategorized
8 Comments
Small Side Panel Cherry Bowl
A few days ago I finished this cherry bowl for a local fundraiser. It features a relatively narrow side panel below the edge of the rim that makes an ideal spot for some chip carving. I took a few shots … Continue reading
Posted in bowls, carving, cherry, finding wood, holding, layout, patterns, sketch, Uncategorized
Tagged carved cherry bowl, carving cherry, cherry decay resistance, chip carving pattern
25 Comments
Carving American Chestnut
The solstice may still be a couple weeks away, but the first day of summer for me was yesterday. I celebrated by digging in to a special log. American chestnut. Big, green, American chestnut. I carved some chestnut a few … Continue reading
Posted in bowls, finding wood, historical reference, layout, trees, Uncategorized
Tagged American Chestnut, Chestnut bowl, ring shake
23 Comments
Spring Birds
Suddenly the sun is there on the horizon and the wait is over. Every bird in every tree begins to sing. The earlier chorus was only a preliminary. This is the main event. The birds sing as though it were … Continue reading
Posted in bird bowls, finding wood, nature, publications, quotes and excerpts, trees, Uncategorized
Tagged bird banding, bird bowl, carved bird bowl, staghorn sumac, turkey vulture
9 Comments
Spoons with Beaks
This year, the arrival of spring weather seems perfectly synchronized with the calendar. I’ve got lots of projects to do, but with the sun is shining and that mourning dove calling to its mate from the maple tree, I get … Continue reading
Elia’s Class Complete
Last Saturday, Elia Bizzarri and I finished up our live online bowl carving class with the third session, resulting in over 9 hours of bowl carving instruction. The sessions follow the process, step-by-step from a half log. My resulting sample … Continue reading
Posted in classes, finding wood, teaching, Uncategorized
Tagged bowl carving class, bowl carving instruction, bowl carving video, Elia Bizzarri
12 Comments
Follow the Bent
I was not anchored to a house or farm, but could follow the bent of my genius, which is a very crooked one, every moment. Henry David Thoreau, Walden I can’t seem to locate my genius, but I have been … Continue reading
Posted in finding wood, green woodworking, quotes and excerpts, spoons, trees, Uncategorized
Tagged border privet, hawthorn wood, spoon crooks
7 Comments
Carving Catalpa
When a friend of mine sent me this big chunk of fresh catalpa wood, some memories came to mind. When I was a kid we had a big catalpa tree in the yard and I had fun playing with the … Continue reading
Posted in bird bowls, finding wood, layout, tools, trees, Uncategorized
Tagged bird bowl, catalpa carving, catalpa tree
6 Comments
Dealing with Interlocked Grain
Trees do funny things. This cherry was taken down a few months ago in a friend’s yard. This section has a 4 1/2″ radius and 55 growth rings. We tend to think of the fibers going straight up the trunk … Continue reading
Posted in bowls, cherry, figure, finding wood, green woodworking, holding, trees, Uncategorized
Tagged carving cherry, cherry bowl, interlocked grain, selecting carving wood
16 Comments