Uniqueness in Design

During the course of carving the various Welsh Lovespoons that I have made to date, I find that it is extremely important to try and develop a fresh design. You may say, that's not too difficult but when you surf the web there are hundreds, if not thousands of competitors trying to do the same thing. The answer is to try and gain an edge and make sure that it is totally unique, then you have something that a person would be willing to buy. Add this to the fact that everything on the Welsh Lovespoon is totally hand carved, then you have something that is unique in every aspect.

Take for instance the carving on the page "Making use of Windfalls," that carvings inspiration came from looking at our grape vine in the garden and seeing the fallen limb of the Jacaranda tree. A dead limb and a flourishing grape vine combined together created the idea and the carving turned out to be exceptional and meaningful. The end result was a delicate carving of grape vines, hearts and lovebirds.


Now what if I were to combine a Heart with a Welsh Dragon and a Celtic Cross to make a truly Welsh theme Lovespoon. It would certainly make for an interesting design, add a flame and CYMRU (Welsh for Wales) into the mix, then join it together with lattice work. I think it could work and it would be quite substantial, twelve to fourteen inches long, four inches wide.


As you can see from all the elements, the design is formulating and no doubt there will be numerous changes along the way so I'll sign off for now and continue once the design is fixed.

BUT we still have to consider what timber to use!!!

Classic in Every Sense

During the past few weeks carving has taken a back stage as my primary work takes precedent over my hobby. Such has been the urgency to complete projects that the only Welsh Lovespoon that I have produced has been a small version with a classic theme.



This carving measures 6" x 1.75" and is carved from Maple. It may be regarded as being small in comparison to the version with Hearts and Vines that I spoke about in a previous post but it does not diminish the complexity of the carving. It is still challenging to carve the surfaces in a smaller area. It means that the carving tools used would have to be of a smaller variety.

The one good thing in carving maple on a smaller scale, is that, with the grain being tight, there is less tendency of tear-out happening. When carving Mahogany, extra care has to be taken and super sharp tools used to keep the carving crisp.

To give my mind a break from my primary job, lunch break provides a pleasant respite so that I can immerse myself into the carving and then return refreshed. The actual carving takes approximately 6-10 hours on and off and once placed on eBay it is really up to the mercy of the bidders. Nevertheless it is always rewarding to sell the carving regardless of the final price.

Carving with Passion

"With every carving there has to be an image in your mind of the desired end result, this is the driving force that will create your masterpiece."

With each Lovespoon that I create, it always starts off with a sketch to depict the elements that I want to convey to the prospective buyer. For instance, if it is approaching St Patrick's Day then the carving will incorporate clovers with the leaves in the shape of hearts.




This will then appeal to the romantic and the religious. Obviously each carving will have a different appeal to different people, a motorcycle enthusiast might like a Lovespoon to have a motorcycle theme, a baseball fan, a baseball theme and so on. You will find that most of my carvings will follow in the traditional sense, to keep with the ancient history and the overall meaning of a Welsh Lovespoon.

This Celtic tradition stems back almost 500 years and I'm sure that many of the carvers these days still use old carving tools. It would be interesting to know what brand is favored by most carvers. Would it be Marples, Buck, Pfeil, Sorby or Henry Taylor just to name a few. I have a mixture of several of these brands, each dealing with a specific task, so I guess it's a case of what you get use to.

Providing the tool is sharp and the carver is confident, the carving will come alive!!!