Cariad Ffrwythlon Fertile Love This lovespoon is another member of my Greenwood Series. I carved it from a downed branch from a mystery tree. It is about 9" long. This is a traditional style lovespoon with some nontraditional elements, notably the extensive kolrosing. Kolrosing is a Scandinavian technique that consists of drawing lines with the tip of a knife and filling the cuts with a coloring agent. Traditionally that coloring agent was coal or charcoal. These days coffee is often used, but I like to use cinnamon as in this spoon. This lovespoon is rich in romantic symbols. At the bottom the bowl is shaped like a shield symbolizing protection. Above the bowl is a cross indicating faith that enhances the protection of the shield and forms the base of support for everything above. Next up is a kolrosed floral design symbolizing the growth of love with a stylized bee to ensure the fertility of the union. (Fertility, by the way, need not be exclusive to the birth of children.) Above this, centrally located, is a Triskelion, a symbol of the Trinity and eternity. The Triskelion is formed by three raindrops. Raindrops are an ancient and cross-cultural fertility symbol. Above this is another blooming floral design. The lovespoon is surmounted by a heart formed of two parts: two hearts joined as one. The entire handle is bordered with a fence enhancing the protection offered by the shield. This lovespoon is dense with feeling. The person to whom you give it will know without a doubt how you regard them.