FRENCH SPOON CARVING with JANE MICKELBOROUGH & ELIA BIZZARRI
Part 1
We split the blank from a maple log and carve it with drawknife and shave horse, knife and gouge. Jane has developed a carving process that allows the blank to be easily held in a conventional shaving horse. She also demonstrates using a paroir de sabotier (clog-maker’s knife) to carve a spoon. Class length, ~2 hours. Q&A included. $20 suggested.
Tool List for Part 1:
Hatchet
Mallet
Drawknife
Vise or Shave-horse
Saw
Pencil, ruler, eraser
Part 2:
After the final shaping of the spoon blank, Jane shows us a variety of chip carving techniques. Then we fill the carvings with wax inlay, just like the traditional French spoon carvers. Class length, ~2 hours. Q&A included. $20 suggested.
Tool List for Part 2:
Straight and curved knife for finishing
Small cabinet scrapers
Chip carving knife
Pencil, ruler, eraser
I am fascinated by wooden spoons–what appear to be simple, everyday objects are, in fact, very subtle three-dimensional shapes. Ten years ago I discovered the tradition of spoon carving here in Brittany, NW France, where I live.
Back in the 18th – 19th centuries these beautiful boxwood spoons were made to be taken to religious festivals and to weddings. Everyone had to take their own spoon and knife. This seems to have evolved into “who’s got the best spoon?”
While these spoons were fairly simple shapes, the handles were richly decorated with metal and wax inlays. It’s this shape of spoon we make in these two classes.
