Category Archives: patterns

If Yinz* are Ever in Pittsburgh

Earlier this week, I found myself with a few hours to walk around the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh.  There was no chance of getting lost; all I had to do to orient myself was look for the centerpiece of the … Continue reading

Posted in carving, historical reference, patterns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Aspen/Poplar/Popple Ale Bowl

I’m settling back in after teaching a bowl carving class (not ale bowls) in the Plymouth, Mass. area with Plymouth CRAFT.  More about that great experience in another post before long. Meanwhile, one of the tasks on my list today is … Continue reading

Posted in ale bowls, bowls, paint, patterns, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Bowl for Beginners and Beyond

I had been thinking about an ideal bowl design for the Plymouth CRAFT class, now only a month away.  This sample bowl is the result of those thoughts.  In addition to providing challenges for development of various skills, I wanted … Continue reading

Posted in bowls, classes, drying, finding wood, layout, patterns, proportions, teaching, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Necklace for a Bowl

At least that’s the way I see a design like this — draping like a necklace around the rim.  l like how the facets of the recesses catch the light and shadows in different ways.  I’ve done several versions; one … Continue reading

Posted in carving, layout, patterns, tools, Uncategorized, walnut | 5 Comments

Beautiful Weather for Carving

Well, for carving inside anyway.  Temperatures in the low 40s, rain, and even snow this morning!  More encouragement to stay in the shop and continue work on some of the things I want to take as examples to Greenwood Fest in … Continue reading

Posted in bird bowls, bowls, carving, patterns, Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments

Chip Carving for Warlike Men and School Girls

It is difficult to conceive the contradictory fact that this apparently simple form of art [chip carving] was once the exponent of a struggling desire for refinement on the part of fierce and warlike men, and that it should, under … Continue reading

Posted in books, carving, historical reference, patterns, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Magic of a Shrink Box

There may be no project in green woodworking as magical as the making of a shrink box.  The magic happens slowly, but you still want to find somebody to ask, “Did you see that?!”  Maybe that’s why I can’t resist … Continue reading

Posted in books, carving, green woodworking, patterns, shrink box, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 30 Comments

On Flutes and Aging

I don’t know much about cheese or scotch, but I’ve heard they can improve if you just let them sit around awhile.  The same might be said for wood sometimes.  This maple bowl underway is from a log that hung around in … Continue reading

Posted in green woodworking, holding, layout, patterns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

It’s Not Easy Bein’ Green

So here is the finished little sumac bowl that I discussed in this earlier post.  No coloring of any kind has been added to this piece; the wood is just that wild.  I like the color against the little tangerines.  Well, at … Continue reading

Posted in bird bowls, bowls, patterns, Uncategorized, video | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Painted Bowl

  Several weeks ago, I wrote a post about carving the side panels of this maple bowl.  Since then, I’ve completed the painting — a slow process.  Not just because artist’s oils dry slowly, but more so because I did … Continue reading

Posted in bowls, drying, paint, patterns, Uncategorized | Tagged | 11 Comments