Welsh Lovespoons What Are They To You?
As a carver of lovespoons I may be a bit biased in my belief that the lovespoon tradition is worth keeping and even expanding. Speaking objectively, as much as I can, the tradition celebrates the best parts of the human condition: the deep, emotional and selfless connection between people. While the lovespoon tradition itself is not exclusively Welsh, the style of the Llwy Garu Gymraig is as Welsh as cawl stew.
As for the features that must be present in a lovespoon, it's not so much the traditional symbols as some indication of the connections between two or more people or groups of people. This could be sailboats or cats or cars or computers or sheep (!) though some inclusion of the hearts, keyholes, diamonds, etc., would not be amiss to keep the Welsh connection.
IMHO, a good Welsh lovespoon must be well balanced, pleasing to the eye, and have a graceful, well executed bowl that contributes to the balance and is not an afterthought hung out on the end. After all, the bowl is THE defining feature of a spoon. Without a bowl a spoon is just a piece of wood.
