The paradox of spoon carving is that the same technology supporting the culture is the very thing leaving us thirsty for a connection with something physical. We want to touch wood because we are inundated with digital images of forests even while we are stuck, many of us, inside. The precise simplicity of a knife feels good after a day stumbling through the bewildering infinity of the digital landscape. The slowness of the craft is the appeal. It is an antidote to the modern dilemma of overstimulation and virtual reality. But rather than a turning back to some nostalgic, rose-colored idea of what spoon carving was, I see this beautiful community claiming spoon carving as something that matters now, perhaps...
After two years of blood, sweat, and tears, Emmet Van Driesche (who is a leading teacher in the spoon carving world) has completed his latest book, Greenwood Spoon Carving. This book contains the fruit of his early years struggling through the isolated beginner stage to his successful career as a professional carver. Not only are his spoons some of the very best we’ve seen (they’re elegant, strong, masterfully executed), but he is also one of the best teachers on the subject. Emmet is clear, level-headed, and thorough. His passion to teach the art of carving wooden spoons led him in 2018 to launch his own print publication, Spoonesaurus Magazine – the periodical on spoon carving. I’ve been a subscriber...
Just because something is totally out of reach does not mean that is it not worth pursuing. Years back, when I was introduced to wooden spoon carving, I was entranced. These beautiful, sculptural objects were not only intended for practical use, but for a most personal use: eating. Any sculpture that should feel good in the mouth is going to be tricky to get just right. Shaping this complex artifact with the simplest of tools is a task so dependent on hand skill and aesthetic refinement, that it only took a few attempts to convince me of how hard this was going to be. But I am at peace with making objects that fall short of my ideal. These four...
