Birch Bark Pencil Cup

3.75"W x 2.75"D x 5.5"H

The small birch bark container (previous post) was an extra project at the end of the week at the Rome Basket Symposium. My main project for the week in Rome NY was this pencil cup. The construction method is described in the previous post. I can never decided which side I like best -- the one with the zig-zag dovetailing or the other side with the knot. The choice of shape was made by default -- that's what was leftover when I was ready to put the cylinder together; most of the other molds had already been selected by other people in the class. I never would have selected it if I had a choice, but now, I love the way it feels in my hand. The top edge is stitched with spruce root. I prefer this finish to the one used on the small birch bark basket below (try saying that fast three times).

Here's a great link about harvesting birch bark and constructing birch bark baskets.