Carving in the Catskills

November 2015

As you may have read, I am a little behind with my blog posts. This is my story from August.

This is the life of a freelance photography and craftsperson. You have to learn to go with the flow, and follow the seasons. Modern day cubicle schedules don't fit into the picture so keeping on task is just another daily chore.

I was invited to carve up some spoons at Oliver's place again. I posted about his place when I visited last November. His parent's converted farm is beautiful and it was nice to be invited back again.

Oliver and his girlfriend are nice people and we always have interesting discussions about all sorts of stuff.

Most of my gear packed and ready to cross the Hudson River and onto the mountains.

Also if you're wondering why some of the images are square cropped, those were just quick cell phone shots.

Not sure if it's better to start with a film of the journey, but here it is. I had to juggle time time between carving, filming, running my jaw, and wandering the hillside.

Not really a how to kind of video, afterall I never really make those anyways.  More of a visual story with little narrative. A rough film about a small gathering of like minded folks here to carve.

Really it's a whole lot of spoon blank making!

First things first... get my carvings, tools, and carving block out and setup.

Some new and old faces.

Here is the carvings I brought for people to paw thru and discuss. Most of it is all recent carvings or things I use daily.

Well with that out of the way, it was time to see one of my great friends and compadres. Luc Lavoie

and of course one of my other favorite people on the planet...his son Samian.

Here is a shot of us.

I didn't get to shoot a whole ton the first day. I had some shipping and errands to do in the morning so I arrived around 3pm. So I carved a bit, met all the new faces and hiked into the forest to setup camp for Luc, Samian, Simon, and myself.

Oliver was kind enough to offer me a room in his folks place but I was just dying to sleep out under the trees and stars. I really dig the old farmhouse they live in though.

For some odd reason I just had to sleep outside. This year I haven't been camping as much as I usually do. Before last winter I was usually out every two weeks year round.

 I had a 15 minute walk up this steep hillside hay field.

Plus Ive been saying lately I need more exercise...although each morning walking up that hillside I was not saying that!

Here is camp.

There  is a small stream just behind the tarp. The entire area is covered with yellow birch, hawthorn, and apple trees.

If you carve spoons then you will understand why this is a good thing.

Such a nice view from the foothills of the Catskill Mountains.

I have not slept in a tent in almost 4 years now. How could you not want to sleep listening to the big owls, the howling of coyotes echoing over the valleys, and being able to watch the moon and the stars make their travel across the night sky. Then you wake to the most amazing songbirds, do I need to say more?

So I got to meet some new faces which is always nice. Here is one now. Jeff carved up some spreaders for each of us which was really nice. He was working on a nice spoon here.

Oliver barefootin' it on the porch.

Like it always does..night fell upon us fast. Luckily this is where I thrive.

Dinner always tastes better out of a bowl and spoon . The chili was awesome Patrick! Luc made the sourdough bread too...man how can you not like a carver's gathering?

It's hard to try to put into writing sometimes. After carving in the sun all day you're hungry and dinner becomes a bit of a blur. Lots of good conversation as everyone winds down a bit. Another thing I like about this is everyone has something wooden to eat out of, so as a chef would say... when you cook the most important thing you can do is taste as you craft. Well... after you carve you should be taste testing what you make.

It just makes sense, we make these things to compliment the food and elevate the meals everyday.

If it doesn't feel right using it, you must change your design. This is another reason  why I believe production work is so important.

Carving the same design over and over seems like a chore to some but it's really the best way you'll be able to understand and correct the function of an item instantly. I occasionally do like to carve a one off item, but there is a thrill to carving 5-10 spoons in a night. Instant gratification? I also get direct results seeing that my skills are on par and improving.

The more I do production batches, the instant I can physically see if my skills & technique have improved. I have heard a lot of huff and puff towards production mentality and I think that the only way you could understand this process and philosophy is to actually try it. If you don't want to try, then you will never understand.

Ale also tastes good from a kuksa you carved!

It was Chuck's birthday, I gave him really old American hewing hatchet. We had some ice cream and some laughs.

Samian feasted on those wineberries I've been foraging, and looks like he cashed in his chips early. (you can see him behind Chuck)

More late night carving in the spoon hut.

It was another so called 'supermoon' even though I don't believe in such termonology. Im usually outside during every fullmoon, heck even a new moon. Im practically always outside enjoying the night skies. It was really nice to see the heavens from a different vantage point though. Believe it or not, all the way up here there was more light pollution than where I live back at home three hours to the east.

I carved two spoons after everyone went to bed.

I also like to heat up my spoons on the fire as I oil them. I don't do this at home unless of course Im around a fire.

The next morning I woke up and hiked up the hill that felt like the Sahara mixed with Everest. It was good to get a nice cup of coffee. Luc and some of the guys were already making noise..just what I like to see.

Another fine fellow Ive been wanting to meet. This is Patrick Alan Diette from Pennsylvania. We got along real well and already were talking plans to hang again.

Coffee time

Patrick made me such an awesome spoon in Black Walnut. I have it sitting on a spoon rack above the editing station as I type.

Luc and I are always interested on hiking around a bit to hunt down spoon wood. It's really an important part of the process.. you know.. understanding where spoons are born. Most carvers find wood already cut, or unfortunately are forced to get wood this way. But wandering a forest and being able to hand select a tree that you have identified and looked over for defects is really the key to understanding the process more. Also when you are responsible for cutting down and putting an end to this growing tree, you appreciate it even more. I guess it's comparable to meat in the supermarket. Many have it butchered and placed in a styrofoam package for them. Most don't see how the cow lives, and which parts taste better and why. Treen is just like this except we don't eat it, we eat with it.

So with Oliver's lead we head up the hill.

I am a little envious of Samian..being able to grow up and have his earliest memories of him and dad driving over the border to the US to carve with some odd New York mountain men. He speaks a little bit of english, just as I only speak a little french. So I can only imagine what he must think of me.... "I remember some funny talking bearded man that played guitar and made kuksas..."

I'm so used to wandering mountains that I sometimes forget that others are not used to diving straight thru prickers and brambles. Maybe it's a good opportunity to realize I should slow down.

I guess I am still a child at heart... like this one in a wild apple tree.

After we harvested some branch wood we hoofed it back to the woodchip piles we were all working very hard on. After more spoons were carved Luc and I really wanted to make some Sumacade. I know I can find it just about anywhere. Sometimes you just have to have a nose for things like this.

I also filmed a companion video of Luc showing us how he makes his Sumacade. I'll post that up soon.

It really angers me deeply that things like this were not taught to us in school as children. Ive known Sumac as a kid.. we used to pick it and called it indian berries because the old timers used to tell us they made 'indian lemonade' with it. But no one showed us how this was done. It's easier than driving to a grocery store and picking up a bottle of fake chemical "lemonade"

Look at the color of this stuff too..and it grows EVERYWHERE!

After a refreshing drink thanks to Chef Luc, we got right back to spoon making.

Samian was having a blast collecting bird feathers and catching bugs.

Luc always makes nice spoons... you never see a bad one in the mix. I think I figured out his trick. He burns all the bad ones like I do!

If you don't know what I'm talking about, well you haven't been very observant...see the blog post before this one.

Luc's expression is great here... "Look at that cut!"   Not sure if he said that, but it looks like it.

There is nothing cooler than seeing father & son carving together. No one in my family, heck even my county carves spoons. So it is great to see this especially in New York where knives are regarded as assault weapons. Further proof that a very young kid can safely use a razor sharp knife. Curious how sharp? Nic Westermann forged that little knife and he makes some of the sharpest steel on the planet.

So I say we all raise an ale to Luc for introducing his son to the real life! Carving with the boys, hanging outside with no shirt, eating wild berries, and getting muddy. That is what life is all about right?

Luc is a great teacher too. Even while his attention is on his own work, he is directing Samian from the corner of his eye and has trust in his son to obey.

Maybe there is hope America? This Canadian man seems to have it down right.

Carving like a champ! He cracks me up.

I think it really makes Samian happy to be able to do what his Daddy does, and also get to hang out with those carvers he sees photos of online.

He doesn't need to speak english to get along, speak sloyd!

The guys and gal are doing a great job with these woodchip piles. Keep it up, and we'll have a nice walkway.

Oliver testing out my carving bench.

Hey a new face named Daniel. He showed up the second day for some spoon carving. Was nice to meet ya!

More of Luc's cooking spoons, damn they look good.

Simon is another carver from Canada that came to visit. At camp him and I had some great talks about carving as he is just getting into it more. He asked me about some kuksa advice. I really liked his espresso maker he camps with but we both agreed the steel cup that came with it is a bit lifeless and...well... boring. So he wanted to make a wooden one, which I am all for.

He is a fast learner and I didn't have to explain too much of the process. It was nice to see others branching out from spoons.

Samian was getting tired so we took him down to camp so he could enjoy the campfire for a while before sleeping. The duties of parenthood. So we left all the lads up at the carving shack. I bet I missed out on some good conversation but it was also nice to sit by the fire and talk.

The nights are already feeling cooler, is summer already starting to retreat?

I also harvested a nice sheet of bark from a log Chuck gave me.

I had my hammock tied to some yellow birch trees, another one of my favorites to carve.

...and yes I snagged a sweet crook to carve.

My camp gear all packed and ready to lug up Mt Vesuvius and head home.

Almost sad in a way to see this ghosttown of wood chip piles.

I guess I part with a thought that is usually on my mind everyday.

I like to think of a woodchip, at least when referring to carver, that each chip has a single strategic thought behind each one. Many choices and memories put fourth before the action of making each chip. But there are some that are kept, which are the ones we do not cut. Not sure which is more special really, but I love making them.