Events Calendar

Sunday, October 13 2024

October 12, 2024 - 10:00am - October 13, 2024 - 4:30pm

Spoon Carving2

Saturday, October 12, 2024 – 10 am- 4:30 pm and Sunday, October 13, 2024 -1 pm-4:30 pm


Fee: $170 /$146 for members. Registration is required. You may choose to attend only on Saturday, but please note that registration cannot be prorated. Add a Mora knife for $35.
Registration: Registration is closed. Email staff@lyndensculpturegarden.org to be added to the waitlist.

Sloyd, or slöjd, is a Scandinavian handcraft movement that emphasizes practical, everyday items made from natural materials. Practicing sloyd promotes self-sufficiency and an intimate knowledge of local natural resources, resulting in functional, handmade items like spoons, bowls, cups, buttons, coat hooks, and furniture.

Whether you're a beginner or an experienced carver, this two-day intensive will guide you through the essential steps required to safely carve a wooden spoon from greenwood. The emphasis will be on traditional axe and knife-hold techniques.

On the first day, you will master essential axe and knife techniques. The second day includes a tree tour on the grounds with Lynden’s land manager, Robert Kaleta, to learn responsible material gathering. We will then turn to finishing carving techniques and recommendations for protective oil finishes. You’ll go home with a spoon and the knowledge to continue carving on your own. Or consider joining our Greenwood Gatherings at Lynden.

All greenwood materials are included in the workshop. We’ll provide a set of carving tools, though you are welcome to bring your own. This workshop will take place on the grounds unless the weather is inclement, so please dress for the outdoors, pack your own lunch for breaks, and consider bringing sunscreen, bug repellent, and a camp chair for added comfort.

Lynden’s tool kit supports independent makers:
• Sloyd carving knife from Morakniv 106 - Sweden
• Spoon Hook Carver from Deepwood Ventures – Minnesota, USA
• Small Carver Axe 01 from Kathoff Axes – Sweden

October 13, 2024 - 10:00am - 11:30am

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Fee: $10/$5 members. Advance registration available but not required. Click here to register.

Join poet and Wisconsin Master Naturalist volunteer Chuck Stebelton on the second Sunday of each month to bird by eye and ear with a focus on the life histories of wild birds. We’ll watch for seasonal migrants and resident bird species and seek out the best bird habitats to identify as many species as we can. Please dress for the weather and plan to walk in varied terrain. Bring your binoculars and field guides if you have them; no previous birding experience required.

Click here to listen to Chuck Stebelton discuss his 'spark bird,' the Northern Flicker, on WUWM.

About Chuck Stebelton

Chuck Stebelton is author most recently of One Hundred Patterns & Three Heuristics (Green Gallery Press, 2023). His previous poetry collections include An Apostle Island (Oxeye Press, 2021), The Platformist (Cultural Society, 2012), and Circulation Flowers (Tougher Disguises, 2005). He currently serves as Project Manager at Woodland Pattern Book Center, a nonprofit literary arts organization in Milwaukee. As a Wisconsin Master Naturalist volunteer, he has led workshops and field trips for nonprofit organizations and conservancy groups including Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters; Milwaukee Public Library; Woodland Pattern Book Center; Friends of Lorine Niedecker; and Lynden Sculpture Garden. He recently completed an ARTservancy artist residency with River Revitalization Foundation and has held residencies at Lynden Sculpture Garden in 2011, 2014, and from 2018 to 2024.


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