There is an elegance in natural materials shaped by the hand and heart that is unequaled in anything artificial and mass produced. No one understands this better than Glendon Boyd.

Glendon Boyd is a national treasure. I first encountered Mr. Boyd in October, 2010, at the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival at Ferrum College in southwestern Virginia. He was quietly working at his craft while crowds clamored around his booth. They were there to purchase wooden bowls carved by Mr. Boyd and utensils made by his son-in-law, who was busy taking care of the customers. I felt fortunate to be able to snag a few pieces before being jostled aside by eager collectors.

Later, upon closer examination, I too, fell under the spell of this simple and beautiful work. I had to know more. So I called Glendon Boyd and made arrangements to go see him at his home and workshop in Floyd, VA.

There was a light snow in Richmond the night before I headed out to Floyd. The farther west I drove, the more snow and ice coated the trees and roads. Floyd is deep in the heart of Appalachia. There is no interstate route or major highway. You get there on roads with names like Shooting Creek which is so narrow, I prayed I wouldn’t meet an oncoming car. I finally found my way to Mr. Boyd’s house. He was there to greet me in the driveway and took me inside his shop which smelled of sawdust…one of my favorite fragrances!

Mr. Boyd is a quiet, humble man. He let me oooh and ahhh over his work while he told me stories of how he looks for just the right tree and then turns the wood so that, as he carves, the grain goes the direction he wants it to. He talked about how some of the wood he uses is still logged by horses because there are places in Appalachia you can’t get to with heavy equipment. He showed me pictures of his father, also a woodcarver. Glendon Boyd is a fourth generation woodworker.

Glendon Boyd chose to leave the trees’ bark on the edges of these beautiful bowls.

Mr. Boyd signs and dates most of the bowls he makes. He also carves the name of the wood species into the bottom of his bowls as if to recognize the trees’ contribution. On the bowls made from wood logged by horses, even the horses get credit. He doesn’t see his bowls as art, though as he said, “some people do, I guess.” Rather he makes them to be simple, serviceable pieces.

I went home with several of Mr. Boyd’s beautiful bowls that day. I hope, someday, to go back again. You won’t find Boyd’s Bowls for sale online, or as I suggested to Mr. Boyd, in a gallery. He said he doesn’t want to “keep up with all that”. He does what he does on his own terms, with skills handed down to him from his great-grandfather, whom I’m sure would be very proud.

I am especially fond of the asymmetrical shape of this maple bowl.

a collection of small bowls made by Glendon Boyd