Читать книгу The Handcarved Bowl - Danielle Rose Byrd - Страница 11

11

T H E H A N D C A R V E D B O W L

Though Americans as a whole weren’t able to see this

educational system for its well-rounded merits, there

were Swedes who did, and by that time, a few Ameri-

can woodworkers were paying attention. In 1978 Drew

and Louise Langsner started a small school in North

Carolina called Country Workshops, offering classes

in chairmaking and hewn woodenware, among other

hand skills. Two of the teachers were Wille and Jögge

Sundqvist, renowned father and son Swedish carvers,

who imparted their sloyd knowledge to the slowly

growing handwork community the Langsners were

building. Around this same time, Peter Follansbee

found his way to the school, and learned from both

Wille and Jögge (among many others), thus beginning

a career in 17th century carving, chairmaking, and

spoon and bowl carving, ultimately establishing him-

self as a pillar of the green woodworking community.

I had been carving on and off for ten years when I met

Peter and was able to assist his bowl carving class at

Lie-Nielsen in 2015. I had carved bowl-like shapes but

had never taken on anything quite like what he was

suggesting. All of my experience at that point had con-

sisted of either complete trial-and-error or attempts to

ascertain what had been vaguely explained deep with-

in the recesses of early online woodworking forums.

In my free time between helping workshop students

set up and keeping the space clear of chips, I found an

extra bowl blank and starting chopping away. This ex-

perience granted me the privilege of being introduced

to this craft by someone who learned directly from two

carvers well-versed in the sloyd tradition. This caught

me at a time when I had already struggled through the

depths of understanding grain, how desperately dull

a tool can actually be and still pitifully remove wood,

and more specifically, learning the kinds of things

I actually liked to make. The class left me feverish,

gnawing at the intersection of my own discoveries and

these new ones, knowing there were so many other

carving modalities I still wanted to learn.

Even within all the possible, and seemingly dispa-

rate carving methods, there is still a strong overlap

of information that can be used in a variety of ways

while channeling the ethos of making something by

hand. Hand tools and power tools can live in harmony

within any process, and I surely can’t see any horizon

when it comes to what’s possible with their potential

combined. Hand tools give immediate, and for the

most part, slow feedback that allows us the space and

time to learn why things are working or not working,

which is why I think it’s important to start with them

first. In my own work I’ve branched out beyond just

using hand tools, but I strongly believe using them as a

beginner will give you the solid foundation of under-

standing that will prepare you for whichever direction

your carving takes you.

In this book you’ll find chapters that detail the general

information pertinent to bowl carving, followed by

three bowl projects that gradually build your skills

using three different designs and also some variations.

Some information is repeated to solidify where core

concepts apply within different designs, grain orienta-

tions, and tool choices.

My hope is to supply you with both the knowledge

of the materials and the skills enough to discover,

perhaps even fearfully at first, your ability to adapt the

skills into something that is entirely your own.

Best of luck to you on your carving adventures, and

here’s to all of your beautiful failures.

— DANIELLE ROSE BYRD

February 3, 2021