Fruits of my labor

For the last ten years, I have traveled around the country teaching spoon carving workshops. Throughout my time teaching, I have made a series of spoons, utensils and objects. I initially intended my workshops to be a general wood shaping course. The focus quickly turned to spoon carving as the project introduced all aspects of the shaping process, and students would leave with a finished product they were proud of! The skills I teach in class are transferable to furniture making, as shaping a spoon is very similar to carving, let's say, a table leg. The spoon became the vessel in which I have taught these techniques. As teaching has become an integral part of my practice, utensils have become an extension of my work. The simplicity of the object and its pure function is what attracts me to spoon carving. This process is more like sketching through wood, as my furniture feels like a more formal process.