How does one say "locking lidded box" in Norwegian?

When I started turning, I drew a lot of inspiration from Robin Wood's book The Wooden Bowl. The glossy photographs of porridgers, mazers, and quaiches gave me shapes to imagine and words to describe them with. I still return to the book for ideas--such a great resource. I would encourage you all to run out and get a copy now, but the book is largely unavailable unless you are willing to pay Amazon's bargain-basement price of $975!


Then, sometime around 2014, Jarrod Dahl kindly shared photographs of his research on Scandanavian bowls and locking lidded boxes. About the same time, I also became interested in Roger Abramson, another turner of Norwegian-style ale bowls. For me, this was the first time I was exposed to a new tradition of turning, new forms, new finishes. But finding examples was/is hard. Roger suggests some books for inspiration, like Norske Drikkekar av Tre and Drikkestell for øl i Trøndelag. But unfortunately, like The Wooden Bowl, these books are impossible to find. And there are other books, referenced here and there on people's blogs, also impossible to find (for me at least.) Anyone have a copy of Vackert Svarvat: skönt målat by Svening Svenningson? How about Träsvarvning efter gamla förebilder by Hans Mårtensson? I will give them a good home...


Thus, most of my inspiration comes from the internet, and especially the Digital Museum. This is a great resource, but it can be frustrating to use if you don't speak Norwegian. Yes, the site can be set to English, but how do you know what terms to search for? Search for "bowl" and you get some results, but not what you might want if you turn wooden bowls.


So, this post is to help those out there looking for inspiration from the Digital Museum but not sure what keywords to use. 

Try searching for:

• "Skål," relating to the word "shell," a shallower shape, more open.
• "Bolle," relating to the word "ball," a deeper, rounder, more closed shape.
• "Ølbolle" or "ølskål" is a "beer bowl." Some with a pronounced foot, some with a tiered interior, some with the classic ale bowl profile that Jarrod popularized.

https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023143641/olbolle

https://digitaltmuseum.no/0210211398427/skal

https://digitaltmuseum.no/011021907689/bolle

• "Vangar," a bowl with two ears--what I came to know was a "porridger" from the English tradition.

https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023124642/vangar

• "Snippebolle" or "snippeskål," a bowl with four ears. I have also seen them called "snibbskal."

https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023124572/bolle

• "Trøys," a spouted bowl for serving beer or milk.  Roger makes amazing examples of these!

https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023134090/troys

If you have further suggestions, please share them in the comments! I am especially looking for a search term or phrase for what I know as "locking lidded boxes", like below.

**Update (11/25/21): Many thanks to my friend and fellow turner Etienne for his answer to the locking lidded box question: "skruvask" or "skruvasken."  As I search the Digital Museum with these terms, nothing comes up.

Shop update

Snibbskal flying out the door...

 

    When the pandemic hit and all of our lives changed, I was able to ramp up my woodturning.  The commute to my day job disappeared when I started teaching my classes from the comfort of my home.  Turning bowls in my spare time became possible: teach, run down to the shop and turn, brush off the shavings, and run back to my room for the next class. It was a sweet life...

    I was really pleased with that surge of output, feeling like the consistency was allowing me to produce some of my best work yet.  But just as my output went up, full-time craftspeople were really struggling.  No longer able to teach, they came to rely very heavily on craft sales, and in such a moment it just did not feel right to put my stuff up for sale.  So I boxed it all up and tucked it away in my shop.

    Since then life has returned to a "new normal."  I am back in the classroom, teaching history from behind a mask.  Professional woodworkers are also returning to the classroom, providing an important income stream.  I was excited to hear from Jarrod Dahl during a recent Zoom seminar on crooked knife history and design that he just bought a building and plans to open The Woodspirit School of Traditional Craft.  Keep your eyes open for that!  

    And so, with things stabilizing, I have decided to update my Shop with some of what I turned last year.  So far the response has been humbling, as several bowls have sold in just the past week.  Thanks to all for your support!  If you see anything that strikes your fancy, send me an email at ericgoodson38@gmail.com.  My next shop update will focus on spoons, specifically eating spoons.  More soon...

The marks of life

    It has been a while since my last post.  Life threw a few curveballs, precipitating a move to a new home, a new job for my spouse, new schools for the kids, a new commute for me, etc...  The dust is settling now, literally, as we finish renovating, much of the work we did ourselves (demo, paint, flooring, kitchen, doors, trim, etc...)  Now a new normal is settling in, allowing for a little more time to enjoy life and heal from the transition.

    And so, this past weekend we took time out for ourselves and went to the local country fair.  The weather was glorious, clear, and crisp, and the foliage was near its peak.  Changing leaves always make me wistful and nostalgic, as they so clearly announce the passage of time.  And so we seized the moment, eating ridiculous fried food, wondering at the enormity and power of oxen, and watching the kids spin themselves silly on rickety rides. 

    We also enjoyed the local craft offerings, of which there were many.  So many skilled craftspeople in our area, especially the quilters and potters.  Around here, there are always more of these folk than woodturners.  Of the turners that I do come across, they generally seem to be working in the same genre: electric lathes, dry wood, and lots and lots of sanding.  The end result shows off the grain of the wood to be sure, but to me, it invariably looks machine-made.  Any sign of life, in the wood itself or in the marks left by the maker, has been obliterated--dried, sanded, and polished out of existence.  The skills demonstrated are admirable, but I am not personally drawn to the end product.  And this is pretty much the only type of turning represented at my local craft fairs.

    As my life settles down and I can again return to turning, I am reminded of what draws me to this process.   I love the way greenwood moves, the way it exerts its own energy and takes the form it wants.  I appreciate the marks left by the maker--the turning cuts and even the axe scars that bear testimony to the hand that made the object.  I enjoy observing paint wear with use, marking the passage of time, like seasons changing and leaves falling in autumn.