In my previous post I had outlined all the elements that I thought would have the makings of a unique Welsh Lovespoon and now that I have placed the shapes onto paper I have decided to increased some of the dimensions so that it will flow a little better. As I said before I’ve left the heart and the cross intentionally open for further refinement until it is time to start cutting out the blank. This will give me plenty of opportunity to refine the design before cutting commences.
The spoon bowl was also an open issue as you can see by the incomplete drawing. When I glue the paper layout onto the wooden blank I will then finalize the length and width of the spoon bowl. This will also give me plenty of leeway to change the shape so that the balance works with the rest of the elements. When gluing the final sketch onto the wooden blank it always seems to give the project a whole new dimension and I find it then, a lot easier to judge the proportions at that stage.
I decided to add a flame type element to the top of the emblem which also has a meaning of forever, which I find appropriate for this design and it also provides a means of hanging the Lovespoon in place if so desired. The extension of the fine internal lines was decided upon to provide support for the flame and add an extra form as in flower buds. This also gives the Lovespoon an added dimension and adds to the delicacy of the design.
Now with the carving forming in my head I’m quite excited to glue it to the birch and start cutting out the detail. I already know what I’m going to do with the heart and cross but I will show you this in the next post. The images will be self explanatory and will give a good indication of the fragility of this chosen design.
Do you ever use multiple woods? I am not sure that this would be considered a traditional love spoon at that point. But I thought it would be interesting to have contrasting woods used in a design.
Hi Randy,
I’ve never considered using a layered composite of various hardwoods even though it would make a stunning final piece. I know we do it all the time when making tool handles but most collectors prefer each Lovespoon to be of the same species of timber. I’ve tried to use a lot of windfall lumber and dried it myself so as to move away from the more common hardwoods just to be a little different. Other carvers have stained their creations to make part of their design “pop” but again I have stayed strictly traditional.