The Spoon Of Babel
In response to this.
Actually, yes, I was carving a spoon with my spoon gouge, just because it was so literal.
I can’t say if it is hard to learn how to carve a spoon because I still don’t if I know how to carve a spoon. I just kind of tried it out to see what I could come up with. Up till now, I’ve only done a few small practice spoons:
But then, grievously, I had to go make a huge spoon (roughly ladle size). A spoon so big I could dine with God himself. Then I cut the hell out of my finger. And I said something in non-standard English. God said, “nein!”
Jae-Ho
Know that if you wish to see the face of God, he may not be happy to see you…
So, just last week I was looking into spoon carving. I can’t say for sure, but I may have been looking at this site http://barnthespoon.com/ the very same day you decided to plant a spoon gouge into your hand.
Accounting for chance and coincidence, which are real and pretty much ubiquitous, that’s kind of messed up, isn’t it? Except you’ve clearly been making spoons for some time now, and I am totally the type of person who would look into spoon making.
Anyway, a one day course is £120 which seems excessive, except maybe it will keep me from driving a tool through my finger.
I guess spoon making is hot right now.
Don’t do what Jae-Ho Don’t does. So if a course teaches focus, safety know-how, and lodges good habits in you, £120 is money well spent. Otherwise…
Do you want to make nice spoons that will have value to people other than yourself? If so, I think you should take the course. I think any kind of Socratic learning environment will greatly enhance the pursuit of quality, craft, and fulfillment.
Or…
Do you just want to work with wood as a purely exploratory process without regard for end results?
IMHIO, the latter has you doing more things (quantity), the former has you doing things better (quality).