Of Grain and Grain  |  Tactile Explorations of Flour and Wood

By Ashley Look

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A moai statue with a pukao (traditional red stone topknot) with the RV Atlantis in the background.

New Year, New Adventures: A Long Awaited Return to Shore

January 19, 2025 by Ashley Look in Wood

Hey There! Back on Solid Ground

Well, friends - it's been quite the year! If you've been wondering where I've been and the slowness around updating this site, the short answer is: all over the place. From cooking on my favorite tall ship in New Zealand to feeding scientists on UNOLS research vessels, around the Galapagos and Easter Island, 2024 took me to some pretty incredible corners of the ocean.

The biggest news is that I've found a new home cooking with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Between keeping the crew and scientists fed, I've had some amazing chances to see their work up close - including the famous Alvin submersible (which, as some of you know, feels a bit like a cool connection to my dad and his involvement with the space program).

Research vessel deck showing the Alvin submersible suspended from a large A-frame crane over the ocean, with crew members in orange safety vests monitoring the launch.

The Alvin submersible being recovered on the Atlantis - a typical day at my new 'office.

What's Coming Up

Now that I'm back on land for a bit, I'm diving back into teaching! This Spring is looking pretty packed:

  • I'll be back at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens for my ramen spoon carving workshop. If you haven't tried making one of these yet, they're fun pieces to carve and even better to use. (Taking place over two Saturdays in March - you can register here!)

  • If you are not sure spoon carving is your thing, the Coral Springs Museum of Art will be honoring me as their featured Artist of the Month where we can do a meet and greet! I’ll be connecting with the community and demonstrating the process so any hesitant carvers can try it out before committing to a class. And if you are looking to shop, my spoons will be discounted in their museum store all month. (Likely the month of April but stay tuned for the official confirmation.)

  • I'm also heading to the Academy at the Parc to spend some time teaching Waldorf School students about bread baking and spoon carving. They have requested my Grain & Grain class this year which I’m excited to teach with a few tweaks to make it child friendly.

Traditional Japanese ramen spoon (chirirenge) carved from light-colored wood, showing a deep round bowl and curved handle with decorative dots, photographed against grey concrete.

A chirirenge (ramen) spoon I carved - come learn to make one at my March workshops at Morikami Museum!

Shop Updates

I know the shop's been pretty quiet lately but I'm working on getting some new pieces up soon. Keep an eye out over the next few weeks as I get back into the workshop rhythm.

More details about all of this coming soon - especially workshop dates and registration info. Can't wait to see some familiar faces and hopefully meet some new carving friends this spring!

January 19, 2025 /Ashley Look
woodworking, spoon carving, ramen spoon, Chirirenge, Morikami Museum, workshops 2025, handmade, woodworker, artisan, South Florida, Florida craft, maker
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Hand carved wooden ramen spoon.

Joy of Carving- Ramen Spoon Edition

April 15, 2023 by Ashley Look in Carving, Wood

Hey South Florida!

If you’ve been waiting for a sign to get in on the joy that is carving wooden spoons, this is it! I’m delighted to return to Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens for another Chirirenge Ramen Spoon carving workshop. Join me for two days this month while we make the ultimate slurping tool!

The great folks at Morikami were kind enough to document some of the action last year so enjoy a few shots of our good time below.

Sanding a freshly carved wooden spoon.

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Carving the bowl of a wooden ramen spoon.

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Click here to save your spot!

April 15, 2023 /Ashley Look
Grain and grain, hand carved, wooden spoon, handmade, craft, woodworking, spoon carving classes, Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, Delray Beach, Florida, Chirirenge, ramen spoon, Joy of carving
Carving, Wood
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The Detour

February 16, 2022 by Ashley Look in Carving, Wood

Sometimes life gets in the way, but when you love something, you’ll find a way to make time for it.

Aside from one spoon I made while on my last sailing trip, this is the only spoons I’ve made in months. It’s just like riding a bike though. Nothing felt awkward or rusty about the process. I just picked up a piece of wood and it came to life over the weekend.

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Do you like this one? I named it Detour for obvious reason.

February 16, 2022 /Ashley Look
of grain and grain, handcarved, wooden spoon, one of a kind, handmade, made in the usa
Carving, Wood
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Climbing the shrouds stepping on ratlines and rat boards.

Climbing the shrouds stepping on ratlines and rat boards.

An Earth Day Miracle

April 22, 2020 by Ashley Look in Carving

In honor of Earth Day I thought I would share a quick story about my current love child… The Batten Spoon.

I found this piece of wood in a scrap pile aboard the SSV Robert C. Seamans. It’s a piece of teak but more importantly, it’s a piece of rat board. For those of you that aren’t sailors, a rat board is a piece of wood attached to a matrix of rope that allows you to climb aloft on rigged vessels. Thanks to some routine maintenance in Auckland, NZ I managed to reclaimed this scrap!

1 Rat board.jpg 2 Rat board spoon becoming.jpg 3 Rat board back.jpg 4 Rat board spoon carving.JPG 5 Rat board spoon.jpg
Batten Spoon Batten Spoon
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Batten Spoon
$97.00

Hand carved, wooden tea spoon, crafted from reclaimed Teak wood and turned into functional kitchen art.

The real story though is how this piece of wood has traveled all around the world, enduring weather to its breaking point, got discarded, and still survived. It’s kind-of a miracle. But really it’s just recycling. Happy Earth Day!



April 22, 2020 /Ashley Look
How to feed a senior, Robert C. Seamans, Batten Spoon, teak, wood, kitchen art, recycling, reclaimed wood, salvaged wood, scrap wood, rat boards, ratlines, rigging, shrouds, sailors, rigged vessels, Earth Day, miracles, handmade, one-of-a-kind, kitchen tools
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