Norm Sartorius - Mount Vernon Spoon

Mount Vernon Spoon – White Mulberry Burl - 9.5 x 1.75 x .75 - All of our lives we have heard about George Washington, our very first President. He’s become a mythical figure almost a superhero in today’s vernacular. Being offered the chance to carve wood from a tree that he planted gave me chills and a elevated sense of responsibility. It would have been dishonest for me to have crafted a spoon in Revolutionary War style mimicking the silverware of the time. I believed my task could be best served by doing what I love to do which is to respond to the character of the wood to make a unique spoon unlike ones I have ever made before. Mt. Vernon Spoon shows the beauty of Mulberry Burl confined entirely to the spoon bowl. The heartwood and beautiful lighter sapwood form a visual mountain range in profile. There was only wood available in my small salvage scrap to have the handle effectively beside the spoon bowl rather than more typically coming from the back of the oval bowl. I wanted to elevate the bowl somewhat and chose to extend the handle in front and below the bowl for this purpose. George Washington planted trees and it’s documented that he planted the tree from which this spoon was made. I honor his life and his love of trees with Mount Vernon Spoon. - $3200 - SOLD. Photography by Jim Osborn.

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