Woodworker pours his energy into spoons

Matt Adams shows some of the spoons he made from wood that was going to be turned into mulch. Photo

Most nights after work, Matt Adams knows he'll be doing two things.
The Clear Lake resident will be sharing some play time and treats with his Australian shepherd, Coda, and spending two to three hours in his workshop, crafting wooden spoons from green wood.
Woodworking and spoon making have become passions in recent years for Adams, who is apprenticing under Clear Lake-area woodworker Jeremy Grubb.
Not only has he been building a client base, Adams has had an opportunity in recent years to meet wood artists from throughout the area and to help with ABC's Extreme Home Makeover projects in Kemah and in Tyler.
And whenever possible, he tries to share the skills he has mastered with others.
I'm happy. Woodworkers, they love what they do. They eat, breath and sleep it. They're trying to impart wisdom and beauty into the world.
I tell people, get a passion for something and enjoy the heck out of it."
Both Adams' grandfather and his mother enjoyed working with wood. He refers to their love for the craft as his pine legacy.
It was after he bought his house, about five years ago, when he started thinking about the potential recently cut trees have for art and functional pieces.
His house had three large cypress trees and an ash in its yard, but not really enough space for them. Before Hurricane Ike, Adams and his wife at the time reluctantly removed them. It was frustrating, Adams said, because he knew the wood had value.
Adams didn't consider working with wood himself until about 1 years ago, when he met Grubb. Adams had decided to have a gift made for his wife, and was referred to Grubb by an area Woodcraft store.
After watching Grubb make a spoon for his wife, Adams asked him to show him how to make one. That's when Grubb became his teacher and his mentor.
He's done a lot, not only to motivate me, but so many others, to woodwork," Adams said.
And like Grubb, Adams has been working with trees that would be destroyed or mulched if they didn't collect them.
Must recently, they retrieved trees taken down by League City. That's a resource that would be gone," Adams said.
At first, it took Adams hours to make one spoon. Now he can do it in about 30 to 45 minutes, including sanding and finishing time.
He sells the finished products for $30 to $40.
He's got a lot of energy going into the hand crafting," Grubb said. He's focused in on the spoons. He just needs to get a broader audience for what he does."
Adams loves getting to know a piece of wood, he said, and finding a way to work with the patterns. Working with green wood can be challenging, Adams said, but worth the effort.
He has especially enjoyed working with live oaks.
You're finding some pretty unique spoon wood there," he said. It's an ornery wood."
Adams got involved with the Texas Extreme Home Makeover projects in recent months through connections in the woodworking community. It was a blast. I got to meet Ty Pennington."
He spent his time helping behind the scenes, sanding and showing community members who'd gathered at the project sites how to properly sand. I got to educate people on how to do something really well."
Adams plans to expand his skills and to move on to furniture-making.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Call 281-702-8787 or e-mail codaman@earthlink.net.