Whittled birch spoon

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Heritage

Traditional

This spoon is inspired by slavic folklore. It is whittled from birch and decorated with kohlrosed motifs from Ukrainian folk dress.

Material

Wood

Craft

Wood-working

General Technique

Forming and shaping
Surface modifying

Specific Technique

Whittling and kohlrosing

Properties & Qualities

Application

Other

Qualities

3D Smooth

Colour

Brown Other

Sample Information

Date of Creation

June 3, 2022

Dimensions

16,5 cm x 4 cm x 3 cm

Weight

16 gram

Culture & Context

The spoon is inspired by traditional pagan east-slavic folklore. In addition to being a useful tool and piece of cutlery, the spoon held symbolic value and a special place in folklore and superstition. Whittling spoons was considered an art which took years to master. Traditionally there would be different spoons for different uses, and they would typically be ornamented. A spoon was considered a personal object which represents and manifests its owner, dead or alive. It was therefore forbidden to eat from another’s spoon, and it was also common to be buried with one’s spoon. Inspired by this, I whittled my own personal spoon, where the shape of the shaft is personalised to my preferred grip. My spoon is decorated with kohlrosed motifs from vyshyvanka (traditional folk blouse) from Zhytomyr in Ukraine, one of the regions in Ukraine where my family is from.

Process & Production

The spoon is whittled from birch, with the use of a whittling knife, hook knife and scrapper. Before whittling, the rough general shape was cut with a band saw. The kohlrosing on the shaft is done with a knife, and powder of bark is used as pigment. The whole spoon is oiled with rapeseed oil. Because of cracks in the wood, the spoon ended up being smaller than originally planned, but is still frequent use.

Credits

Craft Maker

Mimi Shikerina

Photographer

Mimi Shikerina

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