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Woodcarving

Bowl Carving with Axe, Adze and Gouge

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Course Overview

Make the wood chips fly!  This course is for students ready to stand at the chopping block and to learn to use classic wooden bowl-carving hand tools—the adze, axe, gouge and push knife. Topics to be explored include selection of wood stock, elements of bowl design, strategies for hand-hewing, use of sharpening skills, and techniques for finishing. Students start with a birch log and end with a spectacular bowl (or two!) with graceful lines and smooth surfaces.  The shape and style of the bowl connects directly to how the tools themselves function—the classic hand-crafted lines echo the Scandinavian bowl-carving tradition that reaches back hundreds of years.

During the shaping of the bowl, students learn to use appropriate tools and holding devices such as wedges and blocking. Both a chopping block and a bowl-carving bench will be utilized. A variety of tools, books on traditional bowl carving, and other resource materials are provided for students to use during the workshop. Techniques for managing the drying of a greenwood bowl will also be covered. As time allows, students may experiment with a second bowl style, if desired.

Session Information

North House is looking forward to hosting this course on campus in the safest way possible. Students will be asked to wear a mask at all times on campus, and to practice social distancing of 6 feet, as well as adhere to other safety protocols. See the full details of our COVID-19 protocols here.

Dates

Tue, Sep 15th, 2020  –  Thu, Sep 17th, 2020

Course Details

Length: 3 Days
Skill Levels: Beginner
Hours: 9am-5pm
Intergenerational age: 16+
Tuition: $300.00
Materials fee: $15.00

Required

You will need the following tools for this class:

  • soft leaded pencil
  • eye protection (available for purchase @ North House School Store)
  • gloves (leather or carving for those with tender hands. Carving gloves are available for purchase @ NH)

Optional Tools

  • sharp carving hatchet
  • 1" or larger gouges
  • wood carver's gouge adze
  • 8L/35 bent gouge

More Information

Once registered, students will receive a confirmation email with further class information. Please call us if you haven't received it within 24 hours.

Latest Update: View recent changes →

Meet the Instructor

North House Folk School photo of instructor, Jess Hirsch
Jess Hirsch
Minneapolis, MN

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Bowl Carving with Axe, Adze and Gouge - 9/15/2020