“In Woodworking Shop,” photo taken in 1942 by Arthur Rothstein. Courtesy of: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USF34-024771-D.
“Perhaps that is the most precious part of the gift a handicraft like woodwork can bring with it, and as our power to concentrate deepens so will the quality of our skill. Fortunately for us constant repetition will always bring a skill of its own, it being another mystery of living that there is in man something which adapts itself with wonderful readiness to any action or set of actions repeated over and over again. Whether we are learning to use tools, or play the piano, or to swim, tumbling and floundering along till we think in disgust we shall never master the thing, the process is always the same. Almost unawares we find that ability comes, our muscles have learned to co-ordinate, our fingers the trick of it, and we progress with an increasing sureness of touch till we have the mechanics of the thing within our grasp. And it is possible to end there, having achieved just the competence we wanted. But with anything creative, any kind of craft, it is also possible and greatly rewarding to go a great deal further. Sometimes as we contemplate it that awkward self of ours comes to life on another tack, tugging at us with the thought that we’re just ordinary fellows with an ordinary handyman talent and any finer flights of workmanship are quite beyond us. It is the child again, crying distrustfully: ‘I can’t. It’s too difficult,’ and we need to say to ourselves, just as would to a child: ‘Come on. Snap out of it and try.’
“It is here, I think, that what I have called ‘the eye of the vision’ will help us most. Let us cease to worry about our own skill or lack of it but keep instead our imagination fixed on the kind of work we aim at achieving, holding firmly to a mental picture of what our next finished piece is going to look like, colouring it in fancy with all the detail of a perfect finish such as we have most admired in the best specimens of craftsmanship that have come our way. The man running a race keeps his eye on the goal and not upon the feet which are taking him to it and we should be wise to do the same. We need to see the goal with the eye of vision in order to keep our interest and enthusiasm alight: more men have failed from lack of imagination than from lack of skill. For skill, regarded only as the technical ability to do a job, although never unsatisfying, can be of purely limited interest. But regarded as a means of creating beauty through a standard of workmanship aiming at perfection, it gives us entry into another world. It is a world full of human interest, linking us in fellowship with all the craftsmen past and present, in whose work we see evidence of the quality we seek, extending through them our knowledge not only of how things are done but why they are done and how people have lived and furniture changed in a changing world. It helps us to enjoy fashion and yet be above it, in that, arriving at our own judgments, we choose our styles as we will. That many people nowadays have technical ability unblessed with imagination is only too evident in the new hideousness of our towns, but the woodworker who has the true craftsman’s spirit and an imagination attuned to beauty will create at least his home surroundings according to his liking, keeping alive in his own and other men’s minds the knowledge of what can be done.”
I know this is short notice, but if you can make it, you are guaranteed lots of fun, hard work and the general mayhem that is building a workbench in five days. Of course, there is also beer to be had by all at the bar next door – after class only (sorry). The sign-up page is here.
We have just received our limited-edition bandanas in our Indiana warehouse and are ready to ship them out immediately. The bandanas are made and printed in the United States and are $24, which includes domestic shipping.
We have only 500 bandanas. Once they are gone, they are gone for good.
Bandanas are great in the shop for wiping up sweat, keeping the dust at bay or pulling your hair out of the reach of a machine. I’ve been using bandanas for decades (but perhaps that’s an Arkansas thing). So we decided to offer a Lost Art Press bandana/battle flag to our customers.
Like all Lost Art Press products, we try to do our very best. The 100-percent cotton cloth is sewn in South Carolina, one of the last textile holdouts in our country. The 22” x 22” black bandanas feature a rolled hem overlock seam on the edges to prevent the cotton from fraying in use.
The image was hand-drawn by Joshua Minnich and designed by Tom Bonamici. The image was printed with a water-based discharge ink in Oregon and then shipped to our warehouse.
It seems a lot of effort for a rag that might be used for snot or blood, but that’s how we roll.
The bandanas are shipping immediately. So if you need to stop the bandits who have poisoned the water well or craft a publishing-based thong, we have you covered.
A constellation of carvers will soon be gathering in Plymouth, Massachusetts for Greenwood Fest 2018 so I thought a taste of non-European spoons, ladles and scoops (some ceremonial, some for daily use) might be in order.
Africa
Ladle (Wakemia), ca. 1870, the Dan People. Met Museum.
Let’s start big with the wakemia, or wunkirmian, of the Dan people of Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire. These ceremonial ladles, which can be up to two feet long, are carved for the woman with the greatest reputation for hospitality. Wakemia translates as “spoon associated with feasts” and the large bowl of the ladle is a representaion of the generosity of the honored woman. In this example the bowl is shaped into a large leaf and the crest-like handle is intricately carved.
The wakemia can be carved in many different forms. The handle end is often carved with a human or animal head. One remarkable form is the handle carved to represent human legs. The photo above shows the detail on two different spoons (both positioned on stands).
Madagascar. Met Museum.
These two spoons are from Madagascar. The bowl shapes are different, but they share deceptively detailed handles.
Zambia, the Lozi people. British Museum.
Was the carver inspired by a lightning bolt? Was he following the zigs and zags of the piece of wood he chose to use?
It is not uncommon to see patterns, especially those with spiritual meaning, repeated in textiles, weavings and carvings. The spoon carver may have taken his inspiration come from one of the traditional patterns used in the woven baskets of the Lozi.
The shapes of plants and animals significant to the a culture’s religious beliefs and livelihood are often incorporated into items used in daily life.
Two very different spoons from Tanzania, with some similarity in the density of chip carving on the handles. Each spoon is likely from a different ethic group in Tanzania.
Tanzania. Both from the British Museum.
The top with its deep bowl and built-in spoon rest is the perfect serving spoon, while the porridge spoon on the bottom is more tour-de-force than spoon.
Ivory coast. Left: Sotheby’s, right: Bonham’s.
The innovative Kulango spoon from the Ivory Coast is a spoon on one end and pestle on the other. Although it is a utilitarian item it could easily be viewed as a sculpture. In fact, more than a few 20th century painters and sculptors were influenced by African art and everyday items.
A Dan spoon carver.
Two felines converse over a turtle, Lozi people, Zambia. British Museum.
Bird figure on handle, Zambia. British Museum.
An Asante spoon with zigzags and circles, Ghana. British Museum.
Perforated spoon and stripes on the handle, possibly Sotho, South Africa. British Museum.
Zimbabwe. British Museum.
Asia
This old Korean scoop has seen a lot of use and has a turtle shape. It is one of those things that gets passed down from one generation to the next and no one remembers who made it or when.
Toraja people, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Top: Met Museum, bottom: British Museum.
The Toraja live in a mountainous area of the island of Sulawesi. Although the top example appears to be the more elegant of the two, both spoons have a similar overall shape with a blunt end, are curved (the bottom one less so) and have a split-tail handle. The curve of these spoons is similar to the swooping roofs of traditional Toraja homes.
Sarawak, Baram River District, Borneo. British Museum.
The generous bowl and beautifully carved handle make this one of those spoons that complements the act of cooking and serving food. The ethic origin of the spoon is not definitive but the carving has similarities to a Melanau badek (dagger) sheath (left) and the carved crest of a hornbill bird made by the Iban (right).
Ifugao people, Luzon, Philippines. Left: British Museum, right: Sotheby’s.
The Ifugao from the northern part of Luzon decorate spoons with images of deities, an ancestor or a prominent person of the community. Pork or duck fat was traditionally used to polish the spoons. The area is known for its rice terraces and these spoons were used for serving rice and soups.
Spoons from indigenous groups of Taiwan. Top: Museum of Ethnic Cultures, Minza Univ., bottom: British Museum.
The spoon at the top is from the Paiwan. Many of their carvings are of snakes and this spoon captures the coil and scale pattern of a snake. The spoon on the bottom is from the Rukai. The Rukai often used boxwood, the bowl shape is leaf-like and the handle has geometric carving.
Ainu, Hokkado, Japan. Brooklyn Museum.
The Ainu are an indigenous people of northern Japan. One line of “spoon evolution” goes something like: cupped hand, shell, shell with handle, carved spoon. Here you go, shell with handle.
Ainu, Hokkaido, Japan. Brooklyn Museum.
If you look closely, there is carving on the handle of this Ainu ladle. In the gallery are two more Ainu spoons with some nice carving.
Tea which, spoon and bowl. Bottom: Met Museum.
Some spoon forms rarely change. The painting at the top is by Takeuchi Seiho (1864-1942). The bowl, jointed bamboo tea spoon and whisk are from an Edo era (18th century) traveler’s tea set.
The world’s largest rice spoon.
I have two of these rice spoons or scoops (regular size) made of bamboo and use them all the time, not just for rice. Next trip to Japan I am going to Miyajima to see this giant rice spoon made of zelkova wood. It is 7.7 meters long, 2.7 meters wide and weighs 2.5 metric tons (25’3” x 8’10” and 5512 lb). If there is a giant ball of string nearby I’m going there, too.
Bunum indigenous group of Taiwan. Minza University.
Rukai indigenous group, Taiwan. Minza University.
Honey spoon in a woodblock by Kubo Shunman (1757-1820), Edo era. Met Museum.
Two Ainu spoons. Top: British Museum, bottom: Brooklyn Museum.
Postcard from Itsukushima (or Miyajima), late Meiji-Taisho era. MFA Boston.
The “New” World
Wari spoons. Left: Met Museum, right: Archivo Digital de Arte Peruano.
The Wari pre-dated the Inca (early Wari culture is dated around 1200 B.C) and had a rich craft tradition of carving, ceramics, weaving and stonework. As you can see below, they made an awesome hat-no way I would leave that out.
Like many cultures there is a repetition of design that gives a unity to their work.
Archivo Digital de Arte Peruano.
Whether the spoon handle is topped with a bird (top) or a human the design is part of a cohesive whole. There is uniformity but no dullness in the repeated forms.
Now that we have verified there was spoon carving in the New World well before any Europeans arrived, let’s head to the far north.
Tlingit, all collected in Alaska. National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).
The Tlingit are known for carving animal forms and totems. The top left spoon incorporates a painted raven into the handle, while the spoon on the right has a totem. These two pieces were likely reserved for feasts or ceremonial use. On the bottom is a spoon that probably saw use every day.
Northwest Coast Peoples. British Museum.
I found many Northwest Coast spoons and ladles in British museums. One curator (I forget which museum) remarked there was a collection frenzy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries because of fears some of the Northwest Coast peoples would go extinct. Identification of cultures was not always exact or correct.
In the four spoons above there is a wonderfully rendered wolf, a halibut and an “every day” spoon. The long-handled spoon has a pleasing carving of a plant.
Detroit Institute of Arts.
The top left ladle is Powawatomi with a bear effigy and the top, the top right spoon is Chippewa with either an owl or a feline effigy ( I vote for feline). On the bottom is another Chippewa spoon (or ladle). It is a bit chipped, but who cares? Those curves above the bowl are lovely.
National Museum of the American Indian.
Three feast ladles. On the left is a ladle with a bird effigy and speckles from the Iowa people was collected in Oklahoma; top right is an Osage piece, also collected in Oklahoma. On the bottom right is a Fox ladle with a horse effigy collected in Iowa.
National Museum of the American Indian.
The top spoon is Wampanoag from Fall River, Massachusetts; the bottom piece is Mohegan from near Norwich, Connecticut.
Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY.
Both ladles are Seneca from New York. The spoon at the top has a bird effigy, as do many North American spoons, and here you can see a close-up. Without intricate detail the bird is captured perfectly. The spoon handle on the bottom is a bit unusual, with the lower leg of a human and a hook added for hanging.
The wide bowl of the ladles, especially from the East Coast, are known as clam shell bowls. If we go back to “spoon evolution” there are many shells in museum collections labeled as “spoons” or “shell spoons.” The mighty quahog clams of the Atlantic coast were a perfect implement for use as a spoon or a small shovel. The Seneca ladle above is included to show you both its heft and the six-inch wide bowl.
Detroit Institute of Arts.
This masterpiece is from the Yankton Sioux in South Dakota. Glass beads were used for the eyes of the bird.
Tlingit, soapberry spoon. NMAI.
Chippewa, birch bark spoon, Minnesota. NMAI.
Cheyenne ladle. NMAI.
Seminole dipper, Florida. NMAI.
Back to the “Old” Old World
Ancient Egypt. Met Museum.
And we are back to hands and clam shells. There are several variations on the Egyptian “clam spoon” from a dog handle to a woman swimming handle to these two hand-handles. Note the top spoon has the index finger supporting the bowl from below, while the spoon on the bottom has the thumb above and the rest of the fingers under the bowl.
Met Museum.
Sometimes, the hand is the spoon!
In hieroglyphics the hand translates as the letter ‘D’ or, depending on context, “by the hand of.” For the Toraja people of Sulawesi the word for woodcarving is Pa’ssura which translates to “as writing.” Wood carvers, ancient and modern, are using their hands to write their culture, whether it be spiritual, artistic, or both. Carving a spoon is your writing.
To wrap this up: “Spoonful” as Willie Dixon wrote it and Howlin’ Wolf sang it:
Peter Nicholson’s “The Mechanic’s Companion” is one of the landmark English-language books on woodworking (plus carpentry, blacksmithing and other allied trades). But the current versions available to read are hard to recommend:
The Google Books version is free, and it’s a great place to get a taste of Nicholson’s clear instructions and insights into traditional hand-tool woodworking. I, however, can’t stand to read books on a screen.
An original 19th-century printing of the book is expensive. I paid about $300 for my copy many years back, and it’s binding is barely holding together. This, however, is my current go-to version when researching.
There are “print-on-demand” (POD) versions of the book. Some of these are just printouts of the Google Books version (and entirely suck). Other POD versions feature pages that have been cleaned up. These are better, but they fall apart with just a little use. Print-on-demand technology is good for some things, but not a classic text.
Now Megan Fitzpatrick is offering a proper version of “Mechanic’s Companion” that is about the same price as a print-on-demand book but is printed on modern domestic offset printing presses and features a sewn binding and a hardcover.
This is the Nicholson book I’ve always wanted to be able to recommend. (You can place a pre-publication order here – it’s just $34, which includes domestic shipping.)
Some of the specifications for this book might seem familiar to Lost Art Press customers. That’s because we shared our technical manufacturing expertise with Megan so she could create this book at a reasonable cost to you. She is doing this with our blessing.
When we reprint books, such as the Stanley No. 34 catalogue, we use a special scanning regimen that results in a book that is all-but indistinguishable from the original. Most POD books feature jagged text and line art. This is one of our few trade secrets, and we shared it with Megan so she could make this book.
Not that we did any of the heavy lifting. Megan spent more than 100 hours scanning my original copy of Nicholson and then cleaning each page individually. She removed the “foxing” from every page and rebuilt many broken letters and words, pixel by pixel.
If you’ve always wanted a fine copy of Nicholson, this is your chance. Or if you don’t know much about Nicholson but like to support independent publishers, this is also your chance.
Highly, highly recommended.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. Why didn’t Lost Art Press publish this title? Frankly, we have our hands completely full with newly written books. We welcome this (and other) high-quality reprints.
Peter Nicholson’s “