spruce for bruce

I met this guy named Bruce, with the nic name Spruce, at Imagine Festival who encouraged me to go to the Cascadia Skillshare and Barter Faire. He seemed like a real mover and shaker, full of real life spirit. I had this beautiful spruce from the mountains I had just been enjoying in Eastern Washington, and I decided to make him a spoon from it.I had hoped to finish it in time to present at the Skillshare, but completed it a little while later. The handle took on this look of traditional Northwest Native canoe paddles.

Wise Cedar

When I had a chance to meet Charles Eisenstein at Imagine Festival of Orcas Island this year I knew I had to make him a spoon. But what wood to use? That is often one of the hardest parts of the spoon making process: choosing the right piece of wood.

Before Imagine I stayed at my brother Learner's place and slept in a hammock supported by and sheltered by cedar trees. They made a little room between them that had a nice floor of their debris. As a gift to my brother I cleaned up the place a little, pulling the trailing blackberry vines, raking, and removing a few dead, low-hanging cedar branches. One of these branches called out to me to be made into a spoon. It seemed fitting for Charles somehow. One part that matched up is that he has been recently living at the farm of his brother, helping out during the days and working on his book in the evenings. A life of family and service is important to both of us, and this piece of wood was closely connected now to that story.

I left some of the bug-scribed outer wood on the spoon to show more of it's character.

Charles and I didn't find a chance to talk at Imagine, but I did give him a hug. He is smaller than I'd thought he was. When I gave the spoon to him it was in a song circle. We had just sung a song about giving gifts, and I felt it was the right time to present this one. I told him where I'd gotten the wood. He said thank you and that he would use it! It feels my gift to be received by someone I hold in such high regard.

larch for a maiden

The wood for this spoon came from the fishing pole that my teacher Lynx Vilden cut while we were up in the mountains after the period of training I did with her in August. This larch tree, though the size of a sapling of a few years growing at lower elevations, was many years old. She was going to leave it up at the lake, and I decided to use it as a walking stick on the way back down. I didn't need the whole length for the walking stick, so once I got home I cut the thicker end off. Just enough length for a small spoon. I had wanted to see what this wood was like for carving, but had not felt to take from the trees along my way. What I need is often provided by God through my friends in this way!

After a time of waiting to see who this spoon would be for, I met someone on Lopez Island who it seemed to fit. Maggie became a very important part of my life and I am so glad I could give her this token of my wonder at the beauty of life and the providence of connection.

aged manzanita

I got some pieces of manzanita wood from my brother in law Galen in Humboldt. This is the first chunk I have carved into a spoon. It came out so beautifully dark. I was working on it during the drive out with Rain to a primitive skills immersion we were attending. I heard in my soul that it was to be given to them. I finished it during the first week there together and presented it when Rain dropped me off back in Seattle where the whole adventure had started.

lilac for a shaman

While at the primitive skills immersion I attended this August I was introduced to a man named Tommy when I saw him in a film Lynx had made while in Sweden. He is her teacher in Shamanism. When I learned of him and how he likes to carve I thought he might like to have one of my spoons. Lynx was traveling to see him soon after the immersion, and could deliver it by hand! I made it small to fit easily in her luggage.

I chose lilac for it's strength and silky, ivory-like quality.  This branch piece came from a very old tree in Oregon City with a spiral trunk. The contrast of light and dark wood seemed like something that would appeal to one who sees and works with the interplay of light and dark forces. I prayed about the design for a while, trying to come up with something circular, as Tommy loves circles... this beautiful triple-crossed infinity spiral come to me and I accepted the challenge. I am so happy with how it came out!

alpine spruce

On the way up the mountain trail our small band of stoneage adventurers moved through a changing landscape full of beautiful plants. When we got up into the spruce trees I began to wonder if I could find a good piece from one of them to make a spoon out of. This spoon I made for Maggie is from the first shard I picked up. I didn't feel to cut or break a branch, out of respect for this beautiful, wild place. This piece was from a broken limb already laying on the ground. I left some of the bark to give a contrast to the elegance of this silky wood. Maggie is a beautiful mix of ruggedness and elegance.

worm nests

I wanted to share this other facet of my creative life with you. For the past five years or so I have been building these free-standing, basket-like compost systems based on what I learned from Joseph Jenkins in his extremely useful book, the Humanure Handbook. The first one I built was at Green String Farm in Petaluma, CA. Around the country on my travels and in the areas where I have lived I make it one of my missions to help people with their compost systems. Almost everywhere there seems to be a need for this. I believe it is part of a more wise way we are choosing to interact with the Earth, bringing benefit to all we are connected with.