Category Archives: Uncategorized

Three in the Rough

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Dave Fisher

I’ve had some ale bowl requests on the backburner for far too long now, so while I had some cooperative cherry around I decided to rough out three at once.  That makes it sound much more straightforward than it is.  … Continue reading →

Posted in ale bowls, cherry, holding, layout, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 15 Comments

Big September at North House

Posted on August 26, 2018 by Dave Fisher

Grand Marais, Minnesota will be a hotbed of craft celebration next month.  Spoons  have been showing up on the doorstep of North House Folk School for the fundraising auction that I wrote about in this post.  There is a rich … Continue reading →

Posted in classes, events, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Bee Still

Posted on August 19, 2018 by Dave Fisher

Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don’t they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers. — Ray Bradbury, Introduction to Dandelion Wine (1957) Setting down my carving knife, I marveled at … Continue reading →

Posted in nature, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Slippery Elm Bowls

Posted on August 13, 2018 by Dave Fisher

There’s no better way to understand the working properties of a wood species than to carve a chunk of it.  Its character is revealed through experience with it,  including subtle nuances that are difficult to communicate.  Different trees within the … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, finding wood, paint, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Roughing Spoons from Straight Blanks

Posted on August 10, 2018 by Dave Fisher

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

Spoons for Wille and Bill

Posted on August 1, 2018 by Dave Fisher

  My central concern is encouragement — encouraging people to seek, to experiment, to design, to create, and to dream. –Bill Coperthwaite, A Handmade Life There are plenty of reasons to carve a spoon, and here’s a special one.  North … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Busting Out

Posted on July 26, 2018 by Dave Fisher

  I want to say there is nothing like the sudden opening of wood, but it is like so many other things — Billy Collins, Splitting Wood A few days ago I split a cherry log into rough blanks for … Continue reading →

Posted in cherry, finding wood, green woodworking, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 30 Comments

Bird Inspiration

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Dave Fisher

The birds are singing in the rain about the small pond in front, the inquisitive chickadee that has flown at once to the alders to reconnoitre us, the blackbirds, the song sparrow, telling of expanding buds. Henry David Thoreau, journal … Continue reading →

Posted in bird bowls, cherry, finding wood, nature, photography, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

Greenwoodworking in White Oak

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Dave Fisher

“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

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

Posted on June 24, 2018 by Dave Fisher

“Please, do not touch.”  There are certain posted signs that disappoint me, but perhaps none more than that.  I can deal with “Stay off the Grass.”  In fact, I may have had no desire to walk on the grass, at … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, figure, patterns, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 20 Comments