This past weekend I went back to Oliver's place for another spoon gathering. It still amazes me that Oliver is so generous with his time and space. To invite a bunch of spoon nerds he met on the internet into his home is really extraordinary, especially given that we all come with lots of knives and axes. Thanks to Oliver and his family for hosting.
I wish I had taken more photos of his place. His barn is so cool that they rent it out for weddings. An amazing space. We made a mess of it.
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| Photo by Paula Jacobson |
Of course, the people there were really why I came. A chance to meet Alex Yerks, Don Nalezyty, Derek Sanderson, Pat Alan Diette, and Paula Jacobson was not to be missed. I have been amazed by their work for a while so it was great to meet them and talk spoons. I met some great new people, like Annie "Almond" Swift and Chuck Trella, and caught up with acquaintances from Oliver's last gathering. Strangely, I took no photos of the people, save this one of Pat and Alex camping out.
The amount of craft on display was simply amazing. We all brought examples of our own work and bits from our collections. It was truly overwhelming. That many examples of excellent design and execution sort of unrooted me. So many directions to take, I don't quite know where to go now.
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| Photo by Paula Jacobson |
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| Dan Music, photo by Jeff Kuchak |
Craft was what I shot the most. So many inspiring examples.
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| Jarrod Stone Dahl |
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Jan Harm ter Brugge
But again, meeting and carving with all of these great people was definitely the highlight of the trip.
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| next three photos by Paula Jacobson |
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| Oliver and I in heated discussion about boxes. Looks like I am about to attack him with his own scorp. |
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Talking power strokes with Theresa and Stéphanie.
(Not sure what Alex and Luc are discussing. Maybe big spoons? Must be the Pabst.)
Anyway, it was a fantastic weekend, full of excellent food (Don's pizza dinner and porridge breakfast were highlights for me) and great conversation. Oliver, Paula and I discussed spoon design for quiet a while, which sort of got me back on track. Next time, I will spend less time carving and more time watching, learning and shooting photos.
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It was so good to finally meet you and put a face to the name.
ReplyDeleteWe had some deep discussions and very inspiring ideas passing back and fourth. Glad to add your spoon to my collection. One day Id love to buy a bowl too!
Keep on carving, I can't wait to see where we take this in the future.
those pencil boxes...
Yes indeed, Alex, it was a pleasure to finally meet up. Thanks for the spoon swap too. Lovely little eater. I will try to set aside a bowl for you next batch I make. Love your work. Wants me to try my hand again at a noggin.
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