Traditional Spoon Carving

Eight community members are spending the week getting hands-on experience with traditional carving tools as part spoon-carving workshop led by Jared Kane.

The workshop introduces participants to the process of carving wooden spoons, while also giving them an opportunity to learn about the history and cultural significance of the form. 

Although spoons are often thought of as a coastal carving tradition, Kane said, they're a good item to start carving because they are used all over the north.

For the workshop, participants are working primarily with red cedar, although Kane said traditional serving spoons would often have been made from harder woods such as alder or birch.

They're using a range of carving tools, from straight knives to progressively curved blades and hook knives. Kane has also brought modern gouges, which can be particularly useful for hollowing out spoons and bowls.

Through the workshop, the participants are learned by doing. 

Kane has been working on a model spoon to give participants a visual reference for what their projects will eventually look like. Participants begin by shaping the outside of the spoon before moving on to carving out the bowl.

Kane says the spoon is also an entry point into more advanced carving.

He sees each project as a progression toward more ambitious work, including masks.

“These are all steps,” Kane said. “Because always I like to say, you got to learn to crawl before you walk.”

The workshop is also part of Kane’s effort to make carving more accessible in the community. He recently assembled 50 handles for sets of carving tools, while his mother made tool rolls for the kits.

With the current workshop underway, Kane expects there will be more opportunities for community members to learn carving in the future.