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Topics in Traditional Wood Carving: The Spoon
Three In-Person Sessions
Sat., Nov. 1, 8, 15, 2025, 1-4 pm MT

The humble, simple spoon. You likely use it every day. But have you ever made a spoon? Here’s your chance! In this extremely hands-on and practical workshop, DU adjunct art professor Eric Johnson introduces you to the origins of wood carving where you not only make several spoons, but also learn the fundamentals of structure, function and the formal language of 3D forms. “Those forms range from ancient, rudimentary eating utensils to dynamic, hand-carved wooden artworks,” Johnson says. “Through several traditional hand-carving techniques, we explore both subtractive and additive methods, functional/dynamic design, and we examine several hand tools and techniques that can be traced back to the dawn of civilization yet still found in contemporary workshops and galleries today.”

You make your spoons from green and butternut wood blanks using traditional wood carving knives and techniques while paying close attention to shape, size, pitch and decorative aspects. Johnson then asks you if you designed a comfortable handle and if the form actually serves the spoon’s purpose.

“Given that a spoon is a 3D object, you have to address all six sides of the wood blank,” he says. Your first spoon is considered a practice session―like carving a simple camp spoon. But your final spoon serves a more purposeful function and its design, including decorative aspects, should reflect that purpose. Final products are sanded and coated in mineral oil. If your spoon is only ornamental, you can use stain, paint and finish. If the spoon is functional only, mineral oil is allowed because it’s non-toxic.

Johnson adds that safety is paramount in this course. “As long as you follow the safety protocols and wear the provided safety equipment, hand carving is very safe.”

holds an MFA in visual art and is currently an adjunct professor in studio art at the ������. He’s also a full-time DU staff employee who oversees both sculpture and photography in the Shwayder School of Art and Art History.