This was supposed to be a little new year’s project, welcoming in a fresh new start with a carved wooden spoon representing the Roman god Janus, who looks forward and back with his two faces. It’s taken a little longer to get to this stage than I had thought.

As you will see, it is not an accomplished work of art, and so I must continue the drudgery of preparing meals with a normal, soulless spoon of days gone by. At least for now.

The two main problems, I think, are 1 – I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to carving wood, and 2 – I didn’t plan anything. I just cracked on with it and made it up as I went along.

I went for a spoon because that seems to be a good place for beginners to try wood carving, but I wanted to do something different, hence the faces.

I did have a sense that I wanted to be inspired by Medieval gargoyles and grotesques, although I feel that the end result does not reflect that.

Here is a rather more potent image of the Roman deity Janus.

I try to avoid making New Year’s Resolutions, on the basis that I rarely complete them, but what the hell… I wish to:

1. Be a good dad and a good husband
2. Be proud of the work I do
3. Continue to develop my creative practice

And that will definitely include trying a bit more in the way of wood carving and whittling. Maybe an egg next time.

An egg with a face.

Anyway, nothing says Happy New Year like a spoon-totem.