Hope, Trust, Faith

Hope and trust rank high among the words woodcarvers should use regarding the raw wood they work.

Influences

Little things can alter the path we travel as craftspeople, and opening ourselves to new influences is vital to keep our work fresh and exciting.

New and Old

We can easily get lost in the weeds talking about tradition in crafts.

Prototype January

January is prototype month in my small carving shop.

Opportunity

While running a Folklife program for a federal agency, one of my staffers gave me a gift made by Indonesian youth. It was a sort of lobster made from egg crates and other bits and pieces. It scuttled around realistically when manipulated with a string. Next year I found some neat little autos made from cut-up bits of soda cans.

Wild Wood

Around late October, I put some time aside from whatever projects are ongoing in the shop to work on treen - woodenware.

Bad Show!

Once you paid your money for a ten by ten booth, it was gone unless the producer canceled the show.

Storyline

The little sloop is close to a disastrous jibe, and in the tempest, it is sailing in it will probably lead to a knockdown - the sort of scenario that haunts every sailor's dreams.

New York Pilot Boat 5

This chest was not in stock long enough for me to do a proper set of photos. It sold at it's first appearance at the Maine Boatbuilder's Show to a pair of Boston Harbor pilots who were going to give it as a retirement gift to a colleague.

Eagle Eyes

While teaching, I always like to decorate the workshop with carving examples for students to use as a reference. Week-long excursions to teach away from home mean emptying the house of many of my carvings. But samples in three dimensions often are better than pictures or demonstration, and the extra work was worth it.