Mark Robson

Hi, I’m Mark. I started spoon carving in 2020, a response to the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown. It was, and remains, a key element of my self-care: working with natural materials and simple hand tools to make functional, tactile and aesthetically pleasing objects. I source much of the wood I use from storm damaged trees in my local area, or on my travels around the UK. I also benefit from the kindness of others who make wood available from their woodland or garden management activities. I get real pleasure from extending the life of a damaged tree by making spoons from what would otherwise rot. In my carving I use three tools – axe, straight-bladed knife and hook knife. I do not use sandpaper and therefore the knife marks made during carving remain visible in the finished spoons, what a fellow greenwood worker called ‘honest tool marks’. After carving I burnish the surface of the spoons I carve with a pebble and paint with milk paint, if I’m adding colour, before coating with a protective layer of linseed oil. All my spoons are meant to be used, hopefully daily. Caring for your spoon is easy as long as you remember not to put them in the dishwasher! Simply wash in warm soapy water and allow to dry.