Tag Archives: bird bowl

The Beginnings of a Rooftop Hen

There’s a hen bowl in that big chunk of butternut. I’ve made some of these bowls (call them hens, roosters, fowl…) using various log orientations, but the most common have been what I call rooftop bowls. The drawing below accompanied … Continue reading

Posted in bird bowls, layout, patterns, proportions, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Spring Birds

Suddenly the sun is there on the horizon and the wait is over. Every bird in every tree begins to sing. The earlier chorus was only a preliminary. This is the main event. The birds sing as though it were … Continue reading

Posted in bird bowls, finding wood, nature, publications, quotes and excerpts, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Spoons with Beaks

This year, the arrival of spring weather seems perfectly synchronized with the calendar. I’ve got lots of projects to do, but with the sun is shining and that mourning dove calling to its mate from the maple tree, I get … Continue reading

Posted in bird bowls, carving, finding wood, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Carving Catalpa

When a friend of mine sent me this big chunk of fresh catalpa wood, some memories came to mind. When I was a kid we had a big catalpa tree in the yard and I had fun playing with the … Continue reading

Posted in bird bowls, finding wood, layout, tools, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Knotty Story

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

Mulberry Rooster Bowl

In summer, the birds and I eat the mulberries from my neighbor’s tree.  We have a deal; the birds get the high ones and I get the low ones.  The other way around proved to be far too dangerous. A … Continue reading

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Rooftop Bird with 12/12 pitch

It’s been a couple years since I wrote this post about a bowl orientation I call a rooftop bowl.  In it, I discussed working with this type of blank and suggested experimenting with quarter-log splits and other angles.  Of course, … Continue reading

Posted in bird bowls, bowls, finding wood, holding, layout, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments

Bird Inspiration

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

A Bird in the Hand

I’ll be thrilled one day if I ever convince a chickadee to eat from my hand.  Until then, this little guy will have to do.  I carved him from a small maple crook, and learned the difficulties of carving small.  … Continue reading

Posted in bird bowls, bowls, cherry, nature, proportions, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 26 Comments

The Return of the Swallows

This little guy was in the pear tree yesterday morning.  I hadn’t made any in awhile, which is a shame because they are a lot of fun to make.  I based the design on the swallow and their graceful curves … Continue reading

Posted in bird bowls, bowls, carving, cherry, patterns, spoons, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 11 Comments