At Laughing Coyote, many of the instructors have a bit of an obsession with spoon carving. Scraps of wood are pocketed away, carved in spare moments. Students frequently come upon us carving, and now realize it is inevitably a spoon. What is it about spoons that is so satisfying? For one, it is interesting to work with many different woods, to explore the patterns of the grain. A spoon is highly functional, yet leaves a great deal of room for creative expression. Over the past few months, I have seen spoons carved of black walnut (heartwood and sapwood), plum, aspen, willow, Russian olive, Rocky Mountain juniper, and elm. Sometimes they are sanded to a high polish, but my favorites are ones skillfully carved, with the knife marks still visible.
~Neal
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| A collection of spoons |
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| The stages of a spoon |
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| Left to right: black walnut heartwood, aspen, black walnut sapwood |
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| Grain of black walnut spoon |
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| Handle detail |
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| Black walnut sapwood and Rocky Mountain juniper spoons |
