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MEET THE MAKER
Sean Singh How a woodcarver finds his flow while crafting handsome – and durable – utensils and charcuterie boards. BY JANICE QUIRT
PHOTOS PE TE PATERSON
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Caledon-based artisan Sean Singh creates one-of-a-kind wooden cutting and charcuterie boards, often filling crevices with vibrant epoxy. Sean also carves spoons and other utensils by hand.
hen is a spoon more than a spoon? When it represents the memory of the magical summer Sean Singh spent carving it by hand. Of all his work, Sean’s favourite piece is that first wooden spoon he ever made. He recalls taking newly procured tools and a chunk of black walnut with him everywhere his family went that golden summer more than a decade ago, as he painstakingly carved, sanded and finished the spoon. Now, when he holds it, pleasingly symmetrical and perfectly balanced, it brings back the essence of those wonderful times. Sean still taps into that feeling while scooping out the bowl of a spoon or even sharpening his tools. “It’s all about the flow for me,” he says, sitting in the basement workshop of his home in Caledon Village. “I don’t want to rush the process. It’s mindfulness, appreciating the present moment.” At the same time, Sean values the utility resulting from that state of flow. “We have scoops for everything in the house,” he laughs. “Turmeric, sugar, coffee – I love to find a use for my work.” He often carves from maple, birch or black walnut, deadfall found in his backyard. Sean works by the backyard fire or in the living room while his wife, high school sweetheart Maria Tringale, knits and the pair watches TV or listens to music. “I let the wood speak to me. Its shape really determines what it ends up being.” Sean also draws inspiration from the natural world encountered when he and Maria hike the Bruce Trail. Sean uses a hook knife with a curved blade by Swedish manufacturer Morakniv to carve the bowls of the scoops and spoons, and a straight knife for the handles. Before oiling, he sands by hand and burnishes with deer antler. The first cuts for designs carved into the piece are made with the basic blade of a Swiss Army knife beloved from childhood. The knife is so well used that the red plastic on its case has disintegrated, leaving only the steel. C O N T I N U E D O N N E X T PA G E
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