I have a real love for less than perfect wood. I really enjoy transforming a piece of wood that looks like it should be in the fire place into a piece of art that is lovely to hold and a joy to look at.

Each piece I make I try to reveal the beauty that God has put inside the tree. The grain patterns, overgrown limbs, bark inclusions, bug trails, nails, barbed wire, etc. all tell a bit of the story of the life of the tree. Each pattern or “defect” is evidence of the environment the tree grew up in. Most times it is a feast for the eyes observing how the tree coped with each stress. It is an enjoyable exercise to study and hold this evidence of the trials of the life of the tree.

The tree “defects” are much like the physical and mental “defects” each one of us carry from our time in this life. Each experience or trauma shapes us physically and mentally and makes us who we are. How we deal with and evidence our environment determines whether we will be beautiful and lovely to hold or something less desirable. I believe the choice is ours.

I hope you enjoy these pieces as much as I did making them and contemplating their mysteries.

Click on any picture to enlarge and start slide show.