Carve Your Joy: Chirirenge Ramen Spoon Carving Workshop Returns!

Hey South Florida!

If you've been itching to experience the joy of carving your very own wooden spoon, the time has come! I'm thrilled to announce the return of the Chirirenge Ramen Spoon carving workshop at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. Join me for two days of creative delight this month as we craft the ultimate slurping tool!

Event Highlights from Last Year:

Here’s a little stroll down memory lane of some good fun we had from the previous class.

Event Details:

• DATE: March 9th & 16th

• TIME: 10:00AM - 1:00pm

• PRICE: $150 + $20 material fee

• LOCATION: Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens- 4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach, FL 33446

• REGISTER: Click here!

Why Join Us:

Whether you're a seasoned carver or a first-timer, this workshop promises a uniquely good time. Discover the art of carving wooden spoons in the serene surroundings of Morikami. After the class, students have entry to the museum exhibits and gardens and can round out the day leisurely exploring the cultural grounds.

How to Enroll:

Are you ready to dive into the world of spoon carving? You can secure your spot by enrolling here. Don't miss this opportunity to learn, create, and have a fantastic time with a good ol’ crafternoon!

Gratitude to Morikami:

While I’m at it, I want to send a heartfelt thank you to Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens for their continued support. I’m beyond grateful to be returning to this beautiful venue for another round of creativity and wooden spoon fun.

Spread the Word:

Share the excitement with your friends! I’ve been a bit slow to post news of this class thanks to being at sea for so long so I’m trying to play catch-up and could use all your support.

Can't wait to see you there, ready to carve all the joy into some new wooden ramen spoons!

Ashley

Joy of Carving- Ramen Spoon Edition

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.

Carving the bowl of a wooden ramen spoon.

Click here to save your spot!

New Moon, New Spoon, And New Workshops Coming Soon!

sold out

Copper Rivet Serving Spoon

$143.00

I can’t exactly call this spoon new as it’s been kicking around my shop for well over a year now but I’m so glad it remained because it is gorgeous! (Sometimes they become compost.)  It started out as a demo spoon.  It would accompany me to different workshops and events where I would carved here and there to show various techniques and let students explore the hardness of wood.  This Copper Rivet Serving Spoon is made from walnut wood and is a much harder wood than I usually provide for carving workshops.  Having this on hand helped educate budding spoon carvers around the hardness as a character of wood.

Anyway, this spoon has seen some hands. I can think of at least four individuals that spent considerable time with it, let alone the numerous others that whittled shavings over many months.  With time it developed its charm.  I wish I had some before photos because this piece was perpetually an ugly duckling.  The copper rivets were experimental.  I figured that drilling into this spoon was harmless because no one was attached and if things went south, no big deal.  Even with the added bling the ugly duckling prevailed.  But as many of us experienced in our youth, a little time allows us to grow into our own unique beauty.  Gouges got sanded down reminiscent of healing scares that eventually fade.  We are all a bit awkward as teens but that gradually disappears and we emerge with more refinement and a sense of maturity. A spoon is no different.  It just takes time…

Time transformed this spoon into a remarkable piece of kitchen art and it would be misleading to call it my own.  It’s everyone’s.   A community spoon, with a large bowl and sturdy handle, ready to be of service…  It was fostered beautifully by the generous hands that took the time to add influence, helping to cultivate the design.  I can 100% say this wouldn’t have happened without you!

And speaking of you, I have a couple of workshops coming soon!  The specific details are still coming together but for those of you in the New England area you might want to note the following dates:

October 17th & 18th- Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum in Bristol, RI

I’ll be hosting a Grain & Grain workshop which will include two days of carving and baking.  I taught this class here many moons ago but I’ll be revisiting this fall with a fresh twist. Rather than baking bread as we’ve done in the past, we are going to be making Dutch Babies! You know I love me some Dutch Babies so just imagine my excitement when I got the spin on this request!  And ummm… have you seen the gardens at Blythwold? The location alone should be enough to catch your interest.  It’s absolutely beautiful and it’s a great privilege to be going back after so many years.

October 25th & 26th- The Plant Work Shop, Orleans, MA

Nothing like rolling off one high right? A week later I’ll be heading back to Cape Cod and teaching the Joy of Carving at one of the most organically crafty studios on the east coast!  The Plant Work Shop hosts all kinds of creative events and to be part of their fall line-up again is a dream come true!  This year we are switching things up a little with the first half happening on Friday evening and finishing up on Saturday morning, leaving room for participants to linger as necessary. The real joy of carving is the journey in recognizing your own skill to craft a useful tool from your own hands.  It’s a personal process and lends itself well as an escape from the modern distractions. Having the opportunity to spill into the next day without strict time restraints will help support the meditative qualities carving bestows while fostering a casual social environment to make some new friends. 

Long story short, these workshops are going to be fun!  Keep an eye out for tickets through both Blithewold and the Plant Work Shop as space is limited to 10 participants at each location. You can also check back here as I will continue to update you with more details on my events page as things come together.

See you soon New England!

New Moon, New Spoon

I’m pretty focused on fresh starts right now and with a new moon upon us and spring around the corner, I’m starting to shift gears. Unfortunately, change doesn’t always arrive lockstep. It feels as though I’ve swapped one holding pattern for another, and waiting and time remain the constant backstory. After four years of sitting idle caregiving for my parents, they have both now passed and yet I remain. Even the dog is no longer company and so the question of home feels foreign as I remain in their house but lack everything else.

There’s an emptiness here that I hope holds space for a new beginning. However, cold starts are a struggle and the days are slowly slipping into months. It’s hard to grasp the slowness though. Whereas before the nothingness dragged, I am now consumed by the clock ticking and yet, I have nowhere to be. No job, no curfew, no obligations to be accountable to… Just me and again, this strange relationship with time.

The Pleiades Slotted Wooden Spoon is available in the shop. Click here.

If you read my father’s obituary then you know Space was a big deal for this household. Like, as in “lunar landing/ satellite telemetry ” big deal. Growing-up with a human calculator was no easy task for a girl afraid of math. But somewhere along the way I gathered the significance of measurement relative to his passion for Space. I remember him giving me a gyroscope once as a gift and forever trying to get it to spin upon a string. Only now, as an adult, am I making sense of it. In watching this gyroscope video and seeing one in action do I realize how planetary this gift was and his own interest in celestial movement.

Time often accounts for change and those changes parlay seasons. And now, amid all the change that lays so heavy in my air, I am reminded that the seasons of life can account for nothingness and without much attention, life just passes by. So, if you have ever come to this page and wondered about the Full Moon Baking Club or my obsession with time it’s probably worth noting that the space-time continuum is some complicated mathematical model that I’ll never truly understand but thanks to the gyroscope, I can trust that this time will pass. Nature is cyclical… Seasons are cyclical… And if there is ever a clock worth trusting, it’s not the one that tells the time; it’s one that tells where we are in the cycle.

It’s understandable that the seasons of life can be difficult and if you are anything like me, you might find yourself far from one that brings a good harvest. The growing ain’t good right now cause I have nothing much to sow. I’m just now sorting seeds. It’s not realistic to assume life will magically fall into place. But time itself is a kind of magic and so a little intentional seed planting now will surely grow into something later. What better time keeper than the moon? (I think my dad would agree.) And what better way to track change than pursue a craft? Time lends itself to the artisan maker and good craftsmanship can take a lifetime. For the moment all I have is seeds. Time will tell but until then… new moon, new spoon!