I discovered the tradition of Swedish 'sloyd' carving - carving in fresh green wood - in 2012, initially making spoons and then bowls. The craft dates back many centuries, and has undergone a huge revival in the last decade, but was totally unknown to me in 2012. Recently, I have decided to concentrate more on smaller pieces, such as spoons, as they are more practical to carve from smaller pieces of green-wood. The skills of using just an axe, a straight knife, and one, perhaps two, curved knives to create and shape a practical item is both mentally rewarding (hand and eye coordination) and creative in 'reading' the wood, then sensing how it can be worked into a functional form.