Beavers are natural carvers

Last week my daughter and I went for a walk in the Don Valley Brick Works Park, which sits in Toronto’s extensive ravine network. You would never know it was once a quarry for the nearby Brickworks, as it has been extensively restored to include the establishment of a wetland, a great place to walk and see an abundance of bird life in the middle of a major city. What I didn’t expect to see was one of Canada’s national symbols making a mess of the trees, setting up residence somewhere in the myriad of ponds. Now beavers have lived in the area for years, with archaeological finds dating back to almost 130,000 years ago, when 200 pound beavers the size of black bears roamed the land.

The beavers presence is hard to miss, a myriad of trees cut down with the signature beaver cutting method, the remainder caged up to prevent more deforestation. What an incredible animal. It only takes it 5 minutes to bring down an 8 foot tree. Imagine having a chisel that continuously grew, and actually sharpened itself through the process of being used? In addition the enamel on their teeth is laced with iron, which is the reason their teeth have a reddish-brown colour. Not surprising the targeted trees were among their favourites – cottonwoods and likely some poplars. Surprisingly the conifers weren’t even touched, likely because they don’t like them (maybe they taste bad because of the tannins and sap).

Beaver teeth may also have been prized tools for indigenous peoples of North America, used as a gouge for cutting grooves for fashioning utensils such as wooden spoons and bowls. In fact beaver’s teeth have been used to carve what is considered the oldest wooden statue in the world, some 11,000 years old. If you look closely it’s amazing how beautifully smooth the cut marks are. A certain level of craftsmanship abounds in the beaver’s ability to cut down a tree. What if they had the ability to carve? I mean they are exquisite engineers, being one of the few animals that actively reengineers its landscape to suit its requirements. Recently Japanese artist Aki Inomata created a series of sculptures using the talents of various beavers from zoos in Japan. One has to ask who is the artist?

Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) artist chisel (<1884), Peabody Essex Museum

The trees? Never fear, it seems the beaver also understands the ancient art of coppicing. They seem to be growing back already.

Review: The Lost Carving

For my birthday, my wife bought me a book called “The Lost Carving: A Journey to the Heart of Making“, written by David Esterly. Esterly may arguably be one of the most talented carvers of our age. This book details his experience replacing a seven foot-long Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721) carving destroyed during the fire at Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace in 1986. I didn’t really know what to expect from this book – was it going to be one long epitome of the process involved in carving this piece of work? Would I actually read past the first few pages? Well, it is an exceptionally well written book, which offers an insight into the creativity and physical effort required to replicate a work of art over three centuries old. What I immensely enjoyed were the investigative pieces scattered  throughout the book – for example the quest to find out when lime was applied to the pieces. Esterly offers a perspective of a different sort of carving, as most of his work involves limewood (basswood or linden), an ideal wood for carving due to the lack of grain. An excellent read.

 

Wooden spoon V2.0

We were at Salon des métiers d’art de Montréal last December. These shows are great because there is always someone crafting something interesting. Here are some spoons crafted by Joe la Cuillère. They are made of maple and extremely ergonomic, available in both left- and right-handed forms. They are available in different sizes, but what I like is the large surface area, and the fact that they have a straight edge, a cupped side, and a 90 degree corner to allow access into a pot’s corner or along the walls. The only thing to do with them before using them is give them three layers of oil – the suggested oil is walnut oil, which polymerizes into a hard solid film after exposure to air.

Spoons of Joe la Cuillère