top of page
DSC_0511.JPG

Handcarved Ale Bowls

baptismal bowl at Hallson.JPG
“Acanthus Carved Baptismal Bowl with Romanesque Inspired Depiction

Commission Piece for Hallson Church, Icelandic State Park, ND

Ale Bowl Necklace

I've carved these ale bowl necklaces, like this one, by hollowing out area in the shape of a heart.  It is 3" long and features a stylized bird head, with a dark blue background, and has orange, green, and yellow tones. The bowl is painted with acrylics and sealed with protective finish. It comes with a cord.

DSC_0822.JPG

Painting

One of the most unique things about Norwegian Ale Bowl carving is the long standing practice of using a yellow base color and then carefully controlling the amount of paint added to the sculpted surface of the piece.  Folk artists from the past also understood the importance of not hiding the marks of hand craftsmanship.    

NDCA 01.28.2019-215.jpg
DSC_0795.JPG
DSC_0790.JPG
DSC_0803.JPG

Mallard Ale Bowl with Acanthus Carving

 A long time admirer of Mallard duck decoy carvings, this ale bowl was my adventure into balancing realism and innovation in a folk art piece.  It features acanthus carving and it was carved from basswood.. 

Double Headed Mallard Ale Bowl with Dragon Style Carving

This was one of my most challenging and personally gratifying works.  It meant carving an ale bowl with two nearly identical duck heads and yet achieving the proper balance between realism and innovation.  The background is dark brown and the head and sides feature dragon style carving in red, orange, and green tones.  It is basswood and painted in acrylic with multiple coats of protective finish.   

Small Mallard Ale Bowl with Dragon Style Carving

This small Mallard ale bowl was carved from a clear pine decoy blank, and it features dragon style carving.  The chiseled texture made for delightful effects with the painting.  It was a joy to play with the transitions of color.  Painting was with acrylics and the ale bowl was sealed with multiple coats of protective finish.  .

Ale Bowls

DSC_0527.JPG
DSC_0532.JPG

The Blue and Orange Small Rooster

The Blue and Orange Small Rooster ale bowl has turned out to be one of the prettiest carvings I've done.  I've used other paint schemes of green, black, and brown, but the awesome shade of blue here really popped.  I had fun using chip carving to resemble feathers.

Dragon Carving on Small Rooster

I really love how the dragon carving came alive with the red, orange, and yellow color transitions on the wings.  The black background is very traditonal for a Norwegian ale bowl, but I was careful here to keep some of the vibrancy of the other colors.  I enjoyed the design I used for the rooster head behind the eyes.   Almost looks like rays of sunshine on the side of its head.

The Green and Orange Small Rooster

The Green and Orange Small Rooster is distinctive with its grooves that resemble the sides on a Viking ship.  The profile on this ale bowl looks like the hull of those ships.  The green color is very traditional for Norwegian ale bowls and reddish orange highlights worked beautifully here. I incorporated chip carving motifs around the mouth of the ale bowl and numerous instances of chisel work to depict feathers.

DSC_0540.JPG
NDCA 01.28.2019-054rooster1_edited_edite
DSC_0457 (2).JPG

Little Red Hen Ale Bowl

Little Red Hen Ale Bowl was a fun one to create.  It was carved using select basswood.  The brownish red color gave the little hen a real boost in appearance.  The green wing that features gouge cut grooves with V tool lines was just enought to bring life to it.  A bit of dragon carving on the yellow tail added some zing too.  The carving is finished with acrylic paint and sealed with polyurethane coatings.

Reddish Brown and Green Rooster

This was early in my creation of ale bowls and the design here was inspired by a similar bowl made by Phil Odden. This bowl features a color scheme that makes you think of the Fall and bringing in the harvest.   The carving sports acanthus leaves and with slight antiquing glaze it honors the tradition of ale bowl making.

​

Green, Orange, and Blue Dragon

This ale bowl was carved from select basswood and it features dragon carving and chip carving motifs.  It has a profile and incorporates parallel grooves that resemble Viking ship construction.  It is finished with acrylic paints and polyurethane coatings.  This project was funded by the North Dakota Council on the Arts.

DSC_0432.JPG
DSC_0438 (1).JPG
NDCA 01.28.2019-058.jpg

Green Small Rooster

The Green Small Rooster was my first one of this size.  I had fun using a more stylized approach to a folk carved ale bowl.  I incorporated a number of carving styles on this ale bowl, including acanthus carving  and dragon carving.  I love this size of an ale bowl and I've carved several versions of it since.

Brown and Green Rooster

This project was funded through a Folk and Traditional Arts apprenticeship by the North Dakota Council on the Arts.   I wanted to design an ale bowl with predominantly an acanthus leaf motif.  The ale bowl was carved from select basswood and it was finished with acrylic paints and polyurethane coatings.

Double Horse Headed Ale Bowl

This ale bowl celebrates the tradition of double horse headed ale bowls from Voss, Norway.    The black background with reddish brown, yellow and green colors are classic choices for ale bowls.  The bowl was carved from select basswood, and it was finished with acrylic paints and polyurethane coatings.

bottom of page