Class time: use form below to express interest in future workshops.
If your child likes whittling sticks to points, or otherwise reducing sticks to shavings using their pocketknife, this workshop might suit them down to the ground.
Wooden flower making with cover:
Types of wood
Best time to carve the wood (a bit dry but not too much)
Knife safety
Hands on – lets make flowers!…with the usual fails as part of the learning process.
This course is for ages 9 and up. A parent/guardian MUST also attend. This is so there eyes are on every child all the time and also so that more flowers can be made later at home with someone else who has seen how to do it.
Class lasts 1.5 hrs
Wood is supplied but each child needs to bring a sharppocket knife or paring knife of a size appropriate to the child’s hands (i.e. small)
Price $25 per child
Booking
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Payment
Kids flower making workshop per child (max 2 per family)
This workshop involves the use of sharp knives. As such, though low, there is a risk of injury. The participating parent or guardian is responsible to maintain a close what on their charge as the tutor will be circulating assisting everyone and therefor cannot keep eyes on every child. This risk needs to be acknowledged and accepted when booking.
Beautiful small wooden bowls hand made from Australian Native Cherry timber. This is a natural timber wood item from a sustainable source.
Featuring a bowl with an organic rim and attractive grain, on the darker one sides retain the bark. The bowl with bark has been heat treated to kill any pathogens. Perfect for potpourri in the bathroom, ear-rings or rings at the makeup table, small change or as a conversation piece in any other room.
I personally hand carved them to become a shallow wooden bowl just using knives and sanded to a smooth finish before having coat of flaxseed and natural beeswax to give them a durable satin finish.
If you want a wonderful timber item, this is for you! (or as a gift 😉 ).
Spoon carving sisters – more workshop pics at bottom of the page
Learn how to carve your own wooden spoon using traditional techniques and your own hands by attending this small group one day workshop led by your tutor, Matt Eliason (AKA Spoonguy) who has over 3,000 hours experience in spoon carving.
Held in Toowoomba, (an easy 1.5 hr drive from Brisbane if you are there!) the workshop covers:
Types of wood
Sourcing wood and things to consider
How to get the best spoon from wood
Concepts of spoon design
Demonstration of axe work (Hands on yourself at the end of the day, time permitting)
Different safe grips, cutting stokes and other aspects while working on your own spoon
Dealing with issues of green wood carving while working the wood
Knives and knife sharpening
Finishing coatings
The day progresses at a gentle pace, with plenty of one-on-one attention that is only possible in a small group workshop environment.
We carve together, with tool work clearly demonstrated and students work followed to ensure safe and effective tool use.
We take a break for morning tea and afternoon tea (supplied) and lunch (bring your own).
At the end of the day you will have an eating spoon, or a cooking spoon or a serving spoon that is very close to completion for you to take home.
Tools available for purchase at the end of the day if you wish – $130 for the two knives so you can do final cuts and move on to new spoons. ($145 if left handed).
I also have optional purchases:
A 50mm bent knife (good for larger bowls – $60)
Workshops run from 8.30-3.30/4pm.
Current class sizes are limited to four to allow maximum interaction.
Tuition fee:
Toowoomba $150,
Brisbane $180,
Sunshine/Gold Coast $190
Questions? Please feel free to Email me or call 0409 349 752
Next workshops
Sunday 1 November, 2020, Toowoomba Just 3 spots left This will be the last workshop till late March 2021
**If you have 2-4 people and want to nominate your own date I’m happy to consider it.
Spoon carving workshops Brisbane, Gold/Sunshine Coast. I will travel and conduct a workshop (minimum 4 people and extra fee applies). You need to provide the venue – backyard with shade will do.
NEW: You can now also purchase a Gift Voucher for a workshop.
>Final $100 cash on day. Tools available for purchase – $130 for the https://checkout.square.site/buy/X53NEFXV753DRNMXKXBFBWAYtwo knives.
If you can arrange two people, I can do other dates by arrangement
About your tutor
Matt has been carving spoons since 2016. Using skills developed over that time (over 2500 hours carving), Matt has carved a wide variety of spoons using various timbers on almost a full-time basis.
Spoons are sold around the world for practical use and collection.
This ancient Eucalyptus stick spoon is a perfect item for the collector of the unusual/ novel collectibles.
Crafted from an ancient branch, t features a hollowed out knot hole, a heavily eroded side and a side that shows glorious deep red colours in sunlight.
The item has been finished with several coats of special vegetable gum sealer that gives the item a natural sheen.
It is 165mm in length.
Price $85 including shipping Australia-wide.
Sold Leichhardt Tree Root Spoon
SOLD White acacia stick spoon
SOLD Eucalyptus Stick Spoon
This quirky Eucalyptus stick spoon is a perfect item for the collector of the unusual/ novel collectibles.
In keeping with my leaning to marine creatures that breath air there is also the turtle. So I whittled some turtles from wood. This differs from carving wood in that I use a pocket knife, not chisels.
Turtles are a ubiquitous sea creature found in tropical and subtropical waters. Perhaps it is their journey from the sandy nests on beaches as small, cute creatures. So my first effort was to mimic one of these hatchlings.
Turtle hatchling from timber from local park. Approx 5cm long.
Below is a leatherback turtle – made from paperbark wood. Beeswax finish.
I suppose collectively the images here represent a pod of whales.
My whittling is done using a pocket knife, and sandpaper. I sometimes use a round file on tails where there is risk of the wood breaking. In desperate situations, such as the first whale on this page, I had to resort to using a tomahawk to remove some of the excess timber, such was the hardness of the wood, but these measures are a rarity.
I like the lines of the Sperm Whale, plus unlike many other whales, they do not have long flippers so this suits the smaller wood pieces to which I have easy access – including old branches from trees in parks.
click to enlarge
The whale above was made for my youngest daughter’s 16th birthday. Sperm Whale from hardwood. 30+ hours work. 17cm long. I like the grain pattern and the opportunistically placed knot for the eye. Made use of a natural borer hole and sandstone pebble from local park to mount it. This was a quicky little sperm whale. Only 5cm long. Again a fortunate knot allows him to see. From a bit of stick from the park…
Sperm Whale from willow found in park. 13cm long. A much easier whittling task. Permanently mounted on the stone.
Two sperm whales, Cyprus pine and willow wood. About 13cm long.
My take on a baby blue whale carved from Willow wood. Pectoral fins are a bit small. Just resting on wood for photographic purposes.
A smiling blue whale – interpretive piece. Carved from Olive wood. Took 30 hours.
The Platypus, Australia’s famous egg-laying marsupial had presented a wood whittling challenge for me.
I had tried once before to whittle a platypus and it ended up looking like a wooden blob. Much scouring of the internet for a more graceful pose has resulted in this rendition, made for my daughter’s 21st birthday gift.
The wood is willow, from a tree on the family property that had died before her birth, but the wood kept for special projects such as this.
