One Day Greenwood Spoon carving class, with Kiko Denzer, Sat., June 2d & again on Sun., June 3d at Portland's Wildwood View Garden, $75, Suitable for experienced or beginning carvers; limited class size; individual instruction. Each day is a stand-alone class that covers all the basics, but you may register for both days to allow more work on technique and skill. Reservation/payment options include paypal to potlatch@cmug.com or checks to Kiko Denzer, POB 894, Philomath OR 97370. Questions? Email the same address, or call 541-929-4301.
This is a hands-on opportunity to learn (or develop) the art of hand-carving a spoon from a branch. Spoon-carving opens a doorway into a large array of traditional, sculptural wood-craft, from toys to bowls to chairs to houses. Using just a saw, hatchet, and two knives, we'll turn a branch into spoons, as delicate and beautiful as you can make it, or simple and basic. Either way, all spoons begin as a “chip of wood” (which is also the root meaning of the word).
Before mass-production made metal spoons cheap and common, whole villages devoted their labor to the production of wooden spoons. A wooden implement makes eating your morning cereal a uniquely beautiful (and quieter!) experience.
The class covers:
Properties of various woods
Effective grips and tool techniques
Basic 3-D design
Tool sharpening and maintenance
Treatment of finished spoons
Students should have a straight bladed knife, preferably with a comfortable handle. The Mora 106 carving knife, or No. 8 Opinel (carbon steel) folding knife are inexpensive and widely available. The Opinel is a good all-around pocket knife; the Mora is a more specialized carving blade; you can also just bring what you have -- and sharpening kit(s) if you have them.)
Additional info:
see also Spoon carving on youtube.
Instructor bio: Kiko has been a teaching artist for 20 years, with a more recent focus on greenwood work; he also turns bowls on a foot-powered lathe. He started carving stone at ten, and went to Italy at 17 to carve marble. Decades later he organized a 2007 yurt-building workshop with