Busy lately...

I've been keeping myself busy, finishing up the spoon for the Left Coast Eisteddfod, along with a few other spoons. Thought I would show a picture of my favorite latest spoon - it's simple, but fragile. I like the delicate look, and anyone who carves knows I had to be incredibly careful while carving it, not to break it. I might make this design more than once.

If anyone is near the Columbus Zoo this coming Saturday, I, along with some friends from carving groups will be demonstrating carving. I'm not sure where we'll be in the zoo, but if you are there, keep an eye out and say hello if you find us! I'll have a few finished spoons along as examples.

Civil War Reenactment coming up...

In about a week (Aug 21-22), I'll be participating as a "Suttler," selling spoons, pens, and some bean bag frogs I like to make in a Civil War Reenactment. It's in Ravenna, Ohio at Sunbeau Valley Farm. Last year's reenactment was in Hartville, and a good time was had by all! If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and see some new spoons and lots of fun Civil War stuff.

Celtic Beltane Festival Report

Well, this past weekend I had a booth at the Celtic Beltane festival in Hartville, Ohio. What a fun time! This is the second year I have shown at this festival, and I always come away having had a fun time, and with some delicious cookies from the Infamous Welsh Cookie Company. Thanks to everyone who braved the weather and came out to see the festival! The weather held out for us most of the day, thankfully, despite the forecasts of thunderstorms all day. If you didn't get to come out this year, keep an eye out here for next year's festival! It is really a fun time. Highland games, lots of music and dancing, and some really fun vendors.

Celtic Festival

This coming Saturday (May 22), I will be in Hartville, Ohio at the Beltane Celtic Festival at Maize Valley Winery. I'll have lots of spoons, and a few turnings, as well. I'll even have a few small spoons I've been making. I think they are cute. :) If you're near northeast Ohio, I hope you'll stop by & say hello! I'm sure it'll be a fun time, even if it's raining.

The festival starts at 10. Looks like I'll be singing the Welsh National Anthem again, too - fun. :)

Bad dog!

Well, first I'll admit this is my own fault, but that aside, I am still very unhappy with my little dog. I have been spending some time turning on my lathe lately, in addition to carving. I was finishing up the carving on a spoon yesterday, but then set it on my side table to go check on something in the shop for a few minutes. When I returned, I saw the spoon sitting on the sofa, and my heart sunk.....

I walked over to it, and saw the link covered with dog slobber, and this small chunk chewed out of the top link. At that point, I screamed "Nooooooooooo!!!!!" out of pure heartbreak. Then, I looked at my little dog, who was happily looking up at me because he was glad I was back, and said "how could you?!"

Needless to say, he didn't understand the problem. I quietly went about the rest of my plans for the evening, all the while, wallowing in grief over this spoon. A few people have given me some nice salvage suggestions. We'll see... I think much of the spoon can be a new spoon, but it's still a shame for it to have lost its link at the top. As much as the rest of the spoon may be saved, it will still make me sad to look at it. ** sigh **

Afternoon at Rio Grande

Thursday afternoon, I had the great pleasure of bringing my spoons to display at the Faculty Fellow presentation for the Madog Center for Welsh Studies at Rio Grande University in Rio Grande, Ohio. Not only did I get to see a wonderful presentation on Welsh Needle Art, but I also got to meet many very nice people, most of whom were already familiar with the Welsh Lovespoon tradition. That is always a treat for me, and seems to add to the enjoyment of the people viewing the spoons, too. It was so nice to be somewhere with a strong Welsh interest - a wonderful afternoon! Thanks, Jeanne and everyone at Rio Grande who welcomed me there!

Here we are in April, and I'm just working away on lots of spoons. In May, I'll be doing a celtic festival in Hartville, Ohio, so I'm (as usual) working on inventory. I did, recently, finish my first spoon with a caged ball... here's a picture!

Dave Western and I are also getting very close to a point where we'll have a design. Deciding on a finishing point with two designers is a rather difficult problem, however, we both know we're close. I wonder if we'll reach a point where we both look at a design and say "yes - this is it!" Well, we will see!
- Laura

Expressions in Wood, Canton, Ohio

What a nice weekend! I've returned from the Expressions in Wood show in Canton, Ohio. It was the first carving show I've entered, and was a great experience. The overall quality of the show, I thought, was very high. I learned a lot, met a lot of great people, and even came away with first and second place ribbons in my category for the two spoons I entered into the competition. My mom helped me manage my table through the weekend, so - thanks, Mom! I also got to see lots of friends and family who came down to see the show - THANKS for coming! It was a great weekend - Thank you, Stark County Woodcarvers for putting on a great event!

Now back to working on more spoons!

First Post

This is my first post, so I thought I would just start with what's going on right now!
I was recently invited to join David Western in designing and carving a lovespoon for Americymru's 2010 Left Coast Eisteddfod. We will be documenting the process on another blog, so check it out!
http://davidwestern.blogspot.com

Lately, along with two commissions, I have been working on some new spoons to show at the "Expressions in Wood" carving show in Canton, Ohio March 20-21.

If you are seeing this, thanks for stopping by!