Category Archives: sketch

Little Hens

The walnut rooftop chickens I roughed out back in the spring are waiting for me.  Meanwhile, a friend took down a cherry tree in his yard and I used a piece to make a pair of mini versions.  It gave … Continue reading

Posted in bird bowls, bowls, cherry, green woodworking, holding, layout, patterns, sketch, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 17 Comments

Täljfest 2019

In my lectures at both Spoonfest and Täljfest, I referred to an excerpt from Mary Oliver’s poem Sometimes: Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. Astonishment comes easy at Sätergläntan, the traditional crafts school in … Continue reading

Posted in classes, events, green woodworking, historical reference, paint, shrink box, sketch, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 15 Comments

The Nimble Fishtail

Having just finished carving “necklaces” on a couple bowls, I thought I’d explain a bit more about the tool I use for the carving of the large triangular recesses that make up the design.  In the FWW  article and video, … Continue reading

Posted in Lettering, patterns, sketch, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged | 9 Comments

Roughing Spoons from Straight Blanks

Spoons are cranky.  Take a close look at just about any spoon, whatever the material, and you’ll find that the rim of the bowl of the spoon is not in the same plane as the handle.  The angle between them … Continue reading

Posted in carving, layout, sketch, spoons, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Greenwoodworking in White Oak

“One word, no spaces,” specified Jennie Alexander when she requested this sign.  Not only was I not going to argue with the one who coined the term, I was thrilled for the opportunity to make something so meaningful for someone … Continue reading

Posted in books, green woodworking, layout, sketch, teaching, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 31 Comments

Raise Your Handles

The handles on this just-finished walnut bowl really grab me.  They rise up from the edge of the hollow and extend broadly in a sweeping arc. Here’s a sketch to explain how I create a waist in the arched blank to … Continue reading

Posted in bowls, layout, sketch, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged | 6 Comments

Learning at FWW Live

It’s classic advice to surround yourself with interesting, inspiring, uplifting people.  Sometimes you can create that environment, and sometimes you just get lucky and find yourself in such a situation like I did last weekend.  I had been invited to … Continue reading

Posted in carving, classes, events, sketch, spoons, teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments

Bookplates: Ex Libris

Digital media has it’s place, but there’s just something about a book.  Much of that something is a book’s appeal to our senses: the smell of a book, the heft of a book, the feel of the paper against the … Continue reading

Posted in books, Lettering, sketch, Uncategorized, woodblock prints | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Three Minute Bowl

Ben Strano at Fine Woodworking just posted a video condensing my FWW bowlcarving video into three minutes, so if you want it in a nutshell here it is: http://www.finewoodworking.com/2018/02/27/dave-fisher-carves-greenwood-bowl-3-minutes Less than two months until the Fine Woodworking Live event in … Continue reading

Posted in events, sketch, Uncategorized, video | 11 Comments

Bent Bowl

I’m the guy that orders vanilla ice cream at Baskin Robbins, so you can imagine how wild I felt carving this asymmetrical bowl.  The silver maple log flared out wider at one end and also had a slight twist.  Going with … Continue reading

Posted in bowls, finding wood, layout, Lettering, sketch, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments