Category Archives: layout

By Hound and Eye

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Arcs flow seamlessly across a transition point if their radii align there in a straight line. — George Walker and Jim Tolpin, By Hound and Eye If you read the quote above and said, “Huh?,” it’s because you haven’t seen … Continue reading →

Posted in books, layout, patterns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Sinuous Side Panels

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Dave Fisher

A week or two ago, a friend had a red maple (Acer rubrum) tree down, and I was happy to help him cut it up and rescue a few chunks for bowls.  The creamy white wood might represent a great … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, layout, patterns, Uncategorized, video | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

White Oak Bowl — Layout

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Dave Fisher

  This past winter I made a couple rocking chairs from white oak.  An extra bolt from the white oak log had been sitting around since then, and I decided to carve a bowl from it.  I guess I’m a glutton … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, layout, proportions, Uncategorized, video | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

And Now for Something Completely Different….Chestnut

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Dave Fisher

My latest bowl, this boat-inspired piece, came from a Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima) tree that grew a couple miles from my home.  In the photo, it is riding on waves of walnut bark on the wood stack.  I’ve got more … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, holding, layout, patterns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

Moth-Inspired Curves

Posted on June 20, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Nature will bear the closest inspection.  She invites us to lay our eye level with the smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.  She has no interstices; every part is full of life. –– Henry David Thoreau, … Continue reading →

Posted in layout, quotes and excerpts, sketch, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Round Top

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Dave Fisher

I recently completed the green-carving stage of a walnut bowl.  This log was twenty-seven inches long with heartwood about fifteen inches wide.  I wanted the rim of the bowl to sweep gently downward from the handles to the middle. When … Continue reading →

Posted in layout, proportions, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Warmer Weather Walnut

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Back in the bone chilling days of January, my son and I warmed up a bit by collecting some walnut logs from a fallen tree at a friend’s house (and I posted about it here).  Now, the snow is gone, the … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, layout, patterns, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Bottoms Up

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Dave Fisher

It’s time to think about bottoms.  After all, your bowl is going to spend most of it’s life resting on it, and it is an important design consideration.  You can even add some fun designs.  Folks might even smile when they … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, cherry, layout, proportions, sketch, Uncategorized, video | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Measuring Beauty?

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Dave Fisher

 The question of measuring beauty — that is objective assessment beyond “Very nice,” “Exquisite,” “This appeals to me” — has troubled scholars and other laymen at least from the time of the Greeks.  And, beginning with the Greek philosophers, there … Continue reading →

Posted in layout, proportions, Uncategorized, video, walnut | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

A Windfall Goose

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Dave Fisher

I found this stylized goose bowl in the curve of a wind-fallen cherry tree.  Usually, we think of “finding” spoons in the crooks of tree branches, but I occasionally find bowls as well. Grain flowing through the form allows for lightness, … Continue reading →

Posted in bird bowls, books, finding wood, layout, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments