Category Archives: Uncategorized

Venus-and-the-Moon Bowl

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

A Week at Pete’s

It’s been a week since my bowl class at Peter Galbert Workshops ended. While I’ve settled back in and have returned to some projects that were underway, my time at Pete’s is still fresh on my mind. What a pleasure … Continue reading →

Posted in classes, teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged | 10 Comments

Angel’s Head Gravestone

Anybody that wants to get somewhere quickly doesn’t want to ride with me. One of the annoying things I do is pull the car over every half-hour or so to take a 10 minute stroll. This is difficult to do … Continue reading →

Posted in carving, Lettering, Persons, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 25 Comments

Gouge Thoughts: Sharpening, Sweep, Size

In thirty years of teaching, I’ve learned (and sometimes failed to remember) the value of preparation beforehand and flexibility once things get started. I’ve been doing a lot of preparation for my upcoming class. Materials, logistics, and many other things. … Continue reading →

Posted in carving, patterns, sharpening, teaching, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Don’t Forget Your Compass

Only three weeks until I head to Pete Galbert’s for our six-day bowl carving course. Among the various tools we’ll be using, the compass is an important one. I use mine on every bowl I make. It does a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in layout, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Bowl Redesign

Greenwood carving calls for flexibility. I do my best to decipher clues about what will be found inside the log. Still, I’m often surprised. Sometimes, a total redesign is required. The cherry bowl in the photo above ended up very … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, cherry, green woodworking, holding, paint, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Apple Wood Bowl and Leaf Patterns

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

Whale Bowl

I’m not as obsessed as Captain Ahab, but this whale has been surfacing in my mind for a couple years. I think the idea for it came from carving bowls like this with the flutes on the end panels. They … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, paint, patterns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Twist and Shout

Yesterday, I was splitting a small straight cherry log for a potential bowl. I was planning on using the upper half above this chunk. As the log split apart, my plans changed. Just about every tree grows with at least … Continue reading →

Posted in finding wood, green woodworking, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Cherry Chicken

It reminds me of that old joke- you know, a guy walks into a psychiatrist’s office and says, hey doc, my brother’s crazy! He thinks he’s a chicken. Then the doc says, why don’t you turn him in? Then the … Continue reading →

Posted in bird bowls, books, cherry, holding, layout, quotes and excerpts, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments