Last month, I finished up a set of spoons for Chef Nicholas Leiss of Farm2ChefsTable to be used in the farm-to-table dinners that he hosts in the Hudson Valley. The first one was earlier this month and I was able to see some images on Instagram from one of the diners in attendance.
When I make something, it’s easy for me to forget that that object will have a life beyond my time with it. I keep an image of what it will be in its finished state, but it’s really just the beginning of its life as a functional object.
I’m grateful to my customers and commission clients who imagine the lives that these items will live out. It’s exciting for me to see my items in use for what they were made to do.
Getting these spoons done in time was a challenge because the wood was open-grained and full of wormholes. With less than 30 days to do the finishing, polyurethane would not have had adequate time to cure and be food-safe. So after doing a lot of research and consulting with other woodturners, I decided to try out shellac, which is a natural, food-safe resin that dissolves in alcohol.
To fill in the holes, I made a putty from thickened shellac, sawdust and powered black tea leaves that I rubbed with my fingers, to make them stand out. After that dried, I sanded it smooth and finished the whole surface with a few coats of shellac. Once I got used to working with it, I started to prefer shellac to polyurethane.
Coming up this month, I’ll be working on a couple commissions and some house projects, then it’s actually time to start working on holiday ornaments! I’m planning to do more marbling like I did last year. Stay tuned for that!