Of all the pieces I make, the spoon has to be the most enjoyable. This humble utensil just has so much going for it. The whole process from design through to oiling is a pleasure...most of the time.
Every now and again a rogue spoon comes along that just won't bend to your idea of what it should be. These strong willed spoons become something entirely different and sometimes only bare a passing resemblance to the cereal eating devise it was meant to be. Invariably these emerge as the best of the batch and are usually the first to be sold at market. There are so many lessons to be learnt in this. Through yielding to the flow of the wood the resultant spoon, or indeed any other piece, gains a soulfulness and strength of character which would otherwise have been whittled away into small wood chips or sanded to dust. Not everyone who buys these spoons would necessarily be able to identify exactly what it was that drew them towards it but I know, as the maker of it, that the subtle variations set it apart from its peers.
How often can we specifically put our finger on why we are drawn to anything? Perhaps we should listen to this small but strong glimmer of magnetic attraction more often. Be lead more by our senses and less with our thoughts and reason. Surely we'd end up in a better place if we aloud this natural instinct to the surface more often. Human nature intrinsically rests in a nurturing space but layers of grime built up through existing slowly build up and smother it...but it is still there. Hang on...how'd we get here from talking about spoon carving??? Hmmmmm