Category Archives: quotes and excerpts

Print News from Chip

Posted on November 25, 2020 by

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read. Groucho Marx Chip would like to point out some news from the world of books and magazines. Lost Art Press is … Continue reading →

Posted in books, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Autumn Evening

Posted on November 18, 2020 by

As I walked old trails with a young dog last evening, our world was lovely and quiet. Especially so after the previous day’s windstorm, the one that pushed over the screen at the drive-in theater. I sauntered, scanning for spoons … Continue reading →

Posted in nature, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 13 Comments

Cleave the Wood

Posted on August 3, 2020 by

When a friend asked me to carve this short line from Saying 77 of the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, I spent a lot of time thinking.  There were a lot of decisions to make, from choosing among various translations to … Continue reading →

Posted in Lettering, quotes and excerpts, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Late June

Posted on June 27, 2020 by

“If man is ever going to admit that he belongs to the earth, not the other way round, it probably will be in late June. Then it is that life surpasses man’s affairs with incredible urgency and outreaches him in … Continue reading →

Posted in nature, quotes and excerpts, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Knotty Story

Posted on March 22, 2020 by

This tale from my isolated workshop is actually quite tame compared to Boccaccio’s famous ones from the 14th Century told by a group of friends isolating themselves in an Italian villa; unfortunately timely circumstances. Amid the adjustments to the ever … Continue reading →

Posted in adze, bowls, layout, nature, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Revisiting Thoreau’s Tray

Posted on March 8, 2020 by

Our life is frittered away by detail . . . I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on … Continue reading →

Posted in drying, figure, green woodworking, historical reference, Lettering, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Silver Maple Bowl

Posted on March 2, 2020 by

Now that I’ve made several pieces from silver maple, I feel like I’m starting to understand its character.  I compare it to a no-nonsense laborer who wears flashy underpants beneath his overalls.  You know. Based on what I’ve read recently, … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, finding wood, green woodworking, historical reference, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 13 Comments

Liking Lichens

Posted on January 27, 2020 by

What is produced by a free stroke charms us, like the forms of lichens and leaves. There is a certain perfection in accidents which we never consciously attain. — Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers … Continue reading →

Posted in finding wood, green woodworking, nature, quotes and excerpts, spoons, trees, Uncategorized, video | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Ambrosia Maple Bowl

Posted on January 8, 2020 by

A little bread—a crust—a crumb— A little trust—a demijohn— Can keep the soul alive— — Emily Dickinson, from Poem 159 (1896) Looking back, I was surprised at how long it had been since I’d carved a lettered bowl like this.  … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, figure, Lettering, quotes and excerpts, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Wishes for a Peaceful New Year

Posted on December 31, 2019 by

When it is peaceful and quiet, using the knife will not break the tranquility.  Sometimes there will be other things to listen to, such as conversation, music, the singing of the birds or wind rushing through the leaves.  Indeed, sometimes … Continue reading →

Posted in carving, green woodworking, quotes and excerpts, spoons, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , | 16 Comments