Category Archives: sketch

Silly Putty Cherry Bowl… and Three Spoons

Posted on September 12, 2024 by Dave Fisher

What I make is usually dependent on what bits of tree become available. Responding to each piece is a fun challenge. When I checked out a small cherry tree that had fallen over in a yard, it had already been … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, cherry, patterns, proportions, sketch, spoons, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Venus-and-the-Moon Bowl

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Dave Fisher

A friend alerted me to an old fruit-bearing pear tree that had fallen in a windstorm, just a couple minutes down the road. When I went to check it out, I wasn’t optimistic about its prospects. Most of the tree … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, figure, finding wood, sketch, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Apple Wood Bowl and Leaf Patterns

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Dave Fisher

I roughed this bowl out of a green apple log almost a year ago. It’s just under 5″ end-to-end; you can cradle it in one hand. Next time, I’ll make a bigger one. It will be a lot easier! This … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, carving, layout, nature, patterns, sketch, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Bird in the Crotch

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Dave Fisher

A couple years ago, I experimented for the first time with carving a bird from the crotch of a tree. I carved a little bird and it worked out, even though the grain was a bear to deal with and there … Continue reading →

Posted in bird bowls, cherry, finding wood, green woodworking, holding, sketch, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

September Trees and Flowers

Posted on September 20, 2023 by Dave Fisher

Everybody should own a tree at this time of year. Or a valley full of trees, or a whole hillside. Not legally, in the formal way of “Know all men . . .” and “heirs and assigns” written on a … Continue reading →

Posted in nature, sketch, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Drawknife Fun With a New Bowl

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Dave Fisher

I began sketching an idea on this page of my notebook last September, then added a bit here and there since then. Nothing revolutionary, just some thoughts on a design with rising ends and an underside that goes from convex … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, sketch, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Q-R-S-Tree-U-V

Posted on October 9, 2022 by Dave Fisher

I had wanted to carve an alphabet board for a long time, and I finally got around to it. The process began long before I took a knife to the basswood board above. I first put my thoughts onto paper … Continue reading →

Posted in Lettering, sketch, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 22 Comments

Chip Layout

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Dave Fisher

I was finishing up a small walnut bowl and decided to define the narrow side-panel with a graduated row of chip cuts. I have a slide show and description of the cutting of these on a similar bowl in this … Continue reading →

Posted in carving, layout, patterns, sketch, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 8 Comments

New Walnut Bowl

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Dave Fisher

This bowl started with a black walnut log about 13″ in diameter but only 13″ long. I split it into quarters and was able to get this bowl out of one of those sections. Bark up orientation, so the flow … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, carving, layout, patterns, proportions, sketch, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged | 21 Comments

Winter Whittled Bird

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Dave Fisher

On a “cold, cold, wet day” this past weekend, I sat warm and dry in the shop by the window and whittled a little bird from a pine branch. Winter birds bring a special joy. It’s magical to be in … Continue reading →

Posted in bird bowls, carving, finding wood, nature, patterns, sketch, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 26 Comments