Sunday 27 July 2014

Spoon carving and kolrosing.

I've been making a few quick spoons to take away with me to the upcoming Wilderness Gathering in August.
Whilst doing this I was cogitating how I might add interesting decoration to the spoon without taking up too much time. Well, needless to say I still haven't found a quick solution, but I did find something that kept me busy for a while.
If you want to have a try at this interesting art form you'll need a sharp knife, a pencil and some good quality coffee.
First thing you'll need to do is go to the kitchen and find your finest ground coffee.
Or grind your own, very fine.
Make a pot of coffee.
Drink the coffee and dry out the resultant grounds.
Carve a spoon.
So far so good.
The design you apply can be anything you can manage.
In my life I have spent quite some time behind a compass, either navigating for S.A.R teams or personal enjoyment on the hill.
I must admit, I can't draw, but I did study technical drawing at school (before computers).
So I decided on a compass rose.
I oiled my spoon and let it sit for a day or so until the oil had set.
This makes it easier for me to remove any unwanted pencil marks.
Then I marked out the design using a pencil, a rule and a compass.


I used my knife to cut into the spoon, not too deep, following the lines of the design.
Single cuts. I didn't remove any wood.
Once I had finished I rubbed away the pencil marks with a clean cloth.


Once cleaned I applied the coffee grounds with my finger.
Dry grounds and dry finger.


The grounds filled the slim cuts and defined the design.



















Later in the day I added a little more detail....







Looks like I may be employing this skill to some other work in the near future as I thoroughly enjoyed the process.

All the best from sleepy Dartmoor.

J.



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