black walnut curl

This spoon I made as a trade to a spoon make in San Diego named Al Rodriguez. My brother brought my attention to a video of this man making a spoon. I contacted him and he said he would trade me the one he made in the video! This is my first spoon trade if you can believe it.

The design for this spoon kind of surprised me. I had on my heart to make another spoon similar to the little yew one I made for my sister. This one is much larger, but had a similar shape. The overlapping edge on the handle took it in a different direction, but I still feel like these spoons are closely related. Interesting that I was visiting her when I determined to make this trade.

little black walnut

A very sweet friend of my family gave me a ride from Humboldt back up to Portland after I visited my sister's farm in the fall. Ginny would not accept gas money, so I made her a spoon. It is the first one I have made with a hole through it for a cord. I included this cord I'd made in the summer from various animal hairs, including my own. What animal do you think  is there on the handle of this spoon?

Madrone with beach stone

I got this piece of madrone wood from the trunk of a small tree that I cut in a brush clearing session at my sister's place in Humboldt. At that time I was becoming friends with someone named Katrina by e-mail. When I showed her the spoons I make she said she would like to have one. That matched up with my desire to give her one, and I felt this was the right one to give her because of the time that the wood came into my hands. It also has an elegance that matches her way with language, and the white of it symbolizes the purity of heart I felt in our early correspondence. These spoons can be a reminder to feed each other the spiritual bread that is the best nourishment. That is something I greatly cherish in the exchange with Katrina.

(here is a picture from the first carving stage after rough shaping with a hatchet)

I have made two of these split spoons with an orb like a seed or stone left in the middle. These were the ones for Andre and Cynthia. This is the second one on which I took out all the wood between the split handle. The previous one I made out of lodge pole pine and gave to Katrina's house mate, Roger. I thought maybe an actual stone or seed would go in the space. I almost sent the spoon to Katrina empty, that she could find a stone herself. I had tried to find the right one but nothing fit or felt right. At the time I was just about ready to send it I happened to join some friends to a beach called Wash-away Beach near Raymond, WA. On this beach were countless small, round, smooth stones to choose from. I didn't find many that would fit the small space of this spoon, but these two seemed right. I had thought it would be a single stone, but two felt better for some reason. I wonder if there is something to that...