Wooden Spoons
Spoons are perhaps one of the most ubiquitous and primitive tools in the human household. Spoons resonate with us through one of the most basic acts: eating. What can be lost in this basic act, however, is attention to the spoon itself.
My project strives to bring care to this basic utensil through the crafting of wooden spoons. Wooden spoons are my focus because they facilitate an intimate relationship between human and trees. Trees are like spoons to me. They play such a critical role in the human existence, but are often considered to be just another material. My process begins by trying to understand the individual characteristics of the wood. Through sawing, carving, filing and sanding, I try to understand more about the tree that the wood came from. My goal is to emphasize these stories and help transcribe the character of trees into an object that fits in a human hand.
I begin my spoon making process by collecting or harvesting wood from various tree species. I only use wood scraps, or tree specimens that will otherwise be wasted.
