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"Hobbit Holes in MyWorld" --by RusticWoodArt

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#1 ·
An Introduction of Wood Happenings

An Introduction of Wood Happenings

So it's that time again….and if you've spent any amount of time around here at LJ; last spring, summer and fall then you must know by now, some-what as to my occasional excursions into the forests and woods of New England. This year I have decided to re-name and post under a continuation of short story 'series' and so I will be calling these posted blog stories…."Hobbit Holes in MyWorld". J. R. R. Tolkien once started a story; "The Hobbit" with this first sentence line, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." and so finding a fitting name if I may borrow from Tolkien's way of thinking and imagination, is of my journeys around and throughout my landscape here of New England.

As an all time worker of wood, I see into the landscape of my surroundings here….forest, woods, trees, land, mountains, rivers, lakes, gardens, old barns, old homes, wildlife, people and all those other's which are likened as 'rustic wood spirits'. The images that I get, so enliven my imagination into the creation of 'wood art', that I would like to share some of these simulacrum's with you the reader. I would like to welcome all and any to come along with me as you may want and to also feel free to comment and add your own pictures as you may find meaning into your sense of your own world. In reality there is no-separation between your world and my world as we are all workers of wood and therefore the use of wood is the common ground that unites us together. I pass through the terrain that surrounds me here by atv, truck, canoe, kayak and on foot, so this year promises to be a very much traveled walkabout. As you will come to understand, I use the term 'going on a walkabout' much freely as I have come to understand this and, yes I like this word play which also goes along with an-other word I use….'waundering'. Now as one who uses words and loves words, for the most part I try to maintain a correct spelling of those words….and yet, some-times it be-comes me to play with their spellings and meanings in order to get my-self out of the box of common thinking and let my imagination go. So yes, I do play with that word 'waundering' in meaning and spelling….but then just as I am a worker-of-wood, so also am I a worker-of-words….and so I hope that none shall be offended.

What you may expect this spring, summer and fall; is a continuation of life, work and play around here at my place on the farm, the barn, in the woods, in our gardens of flowers, berries and veggies and into the surrounding milieu of New England landscape. There is much to do this year with making furniture, some shows, a cabin renovation still ongoing, cutting trees and milling slabs of wood, landscaping, planting….which was covered in some detail last year. This year I also plan to add hikes and kayaking trips, along with my often well thought out….but, not so 'in the box' thinking out loud….plus, poetry on life in the woods of my-world. Now I understand that some may wonder as to how hiking and kayaking connects to wood and woodworking and so I will be happy to answer those inquiries with this reply. One of my great loves during the winter months is the study of topographical maps and going over notes I have taken during my years of waundering herein and talking to folks who live in out of the way places, as I search the land for 'old growth' trees. This year I have decided to occasionally include some of these treks, along with photos through-out the forests up here. However I might also add that as to exact locations and such, I may often forget, (and that is intentional of course) to mention exact directions, as I do respect the 'old growth' and some of these trees need to remain hidden. So again let me say welcome and if you have a comfortable pair of hiking boots, tape measure, along with pencil and paper for sketching and notes….be sure and bring them along. I might also add that if I have forgotten any-thing in this introduction of sorts….well after a good long hike or kayak trip, I'm sure it will all come out in the wash!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

While out walking some time ago, (and what meaning after all has time in hobbit holes?) I was plodding along at one of the local dams near to me here….



....and in my walking….



....I came upon a hobbit. Taking up his invitation to follow, I hurried along as he disappeared down a hobbit hole and I right behind….



....my baptism of sorts, into his world was only one that started years of ages ago, but felt as if only for a recent near season, as I soon emerged and walked out into the brightness of a new spring day….



What better place to start this years 'walkabout' then where we left off at last fall….and, so bringing up the picture of this apple tree as then,....



....we can now precede to where I was standing on Saturday. This one ancient apple tree, all set against a background of blue sky and satin finish, hand rubbed to a tree hugger's delight of brilliant sheen….



....and so turning my head around,
i found that the ground was drying out with patches of grass still brown,
till the thought kept coming my way of what if i lay my head as down,
to see beyond into the eye's of blue sky where clouds abound….

--walk softly across this your landscape of seemingly desire,
and know for most assuredly that all that entertains the eye of acquire,
often spends their days caught up in the act of feeding fire,
while belly aches are soon mismanaged with the hardness to conspire,

....so having already paid my dues i kept the change,
and cast my cares to wind swept dreams of noble exchange,
since from the eons of beginning i now can give my-self a place of grange,
till comes a next one passing by who calls from past and welcomes me to interchange….



....when my days are done, let me stretch forth my hands as the quaintise of the birches do, likening my self to an awakening of what comes next….



....and so in studying the land, I often am drawn to studying rock walls. These are the beauties of creation that often bring remembrances of next morning sore backs….and yet, works of art they are in all their be-holden strength….



....and so I borrowed a piece of wood that was stuck in the cracks of yonder stone wall and decided to create a piece of 'wood art', where wood and shadow be-come as one….



....so some snow is still hanging on and this tower of wood blesses the eye with what can be….



....looking to the west, I am drawn to remembering the times I have climbed your summit, giving thanks that as a friend, your loftiness is once again in sight Mt. Kearsarge….



Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

-
"....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood…."
 
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#495 ·
My Zone of Wood Art

My Zone of Wood Art



….art is the interpretation of what is before you, and therefore needs no-out-side influence to make it more then it is in this moment. The problem that many have with art is that it is all-ways regulated to some other plane of our existence, out-side the time-work of where we are now. Because the many see art as so 'other', these many lost souls to the world of art, will in-deed all-ways be seeking for art as if it is some-thing that is found in the so called great galleries of this world.

I have been around artists who can make those who come 'to pick their brains', feel as if they are not or beyond the world of art, but are in reality living within the zone of art that is all before them. This can be what I often talk about as the 'great awakening' and once an entity has participated in this moment, the seeking for art will be realized as what is before them. In times past I often separated my-self from my creator as if I was the creature of creation, which in turn only made me feel more separated and therefore I was running amuck in my world. This what I was taught from an early age….like when those (older and wiser?) told me it was time to grow up and so I needed to put away my colored pencils and get my head out of the sand or stop looking or dreaming of those far away clouds in the sky above. From where I now sit, I can only say that I am one within my creation and all that my eyes take in each and every new day are but my world of art. If one wants to go off on a tangent or even dares to….I might add that those….other's….I see daily in my world of art, are in-turn seeing me whether they are awakened or not as is, in their world of art.

Art is all about giving and therefore keeps no-score with the un-holy acts of taking. Recently (for a good year) with my conditions of dis-ease that had moved into my body, I had a hard time giving and therefore be-came more at home with taking….which in turn lead to a more self-i-nature, which in turn led me to forget about the world of art. My art-your art-all art is not about the conditions that we place upon it, whether by limitation, finitude, parochial viewing, freedom, un-fettered viewing, but is an out-ward explosion of what is in-side us. Art does not just happen because my circumstances are 'just right' this moment and neither is it found only in times of my suffering or times of re-joy-i-singing….as if art needs to be invited to work at it's owner's request. At times the artist will go through those dark nights of the soul, but there must needs to be a calling back to who I really am in my world of art….and for me that is in the playing fields, forests and water-ways where I am found in my zone of 'wood art'.

Working the wood for me is an epiphany of my discovery into the world (my world) of artistic muse. My limitations that I place on my-self are far below the un-limited possibilities that I can yet do. Last year at this time I was in a bad place concerning my body and health, and yet I had a wood show coming up, which I forced myself to go to rather than cancel. I remember thinking all during the show about my condition, would this be my last show (and I came to believing that it would be) due to limitations placed upon me now….and so in short this be-came a bad show (my worst show) for me. I now have a new show coming up this next weekend and I have replaced those self imposed limitations with thank-fullness and un-limited viewing into the possibilities of what can yet be….and with this type of attitude (remember that attitude is all about what be-comes altitude) I expect great altitude and response.
--by flp

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Now if any would wonder or even want to wander around in-side my head as to where my wood words and wood art are found, I'm afraid they would be much disappointed as I can only say that all I am about comes first from the woods. Having left the city ages ago….and never looking back I soon learned a new form of working the wood. Back then I either lived in the city or worked in the city and all my woodworking was about lines….since every-where I looked there were those lines. Out here it finally hit me one day that I was never going to meet a tree with straight lines and that my attempts at mangling the wood to create perfect lines was in a since no-thing short of my attempting to pre-form an abortion on the tree//wood to prevent the birth of what was all-ready written therein called character. My ideas on working the wood changed as I started listening to the trees and wood, as they had much to say about how there character should look.

….out here is where my inspiration comes from and much can be said for just forgetting the outside world and going into the woods….



….dreams are the works of the dream lords who sow the art, that after the art has been sown, are all-ways in place to those who will step out of their box and go work the wood to reap….



….how far can you stretch your mind….



….but then one could also say, how far can one empty their mind in order to see what is there for the; "who-so-ever let him come"!



Than you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

-
"....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood...."
 
#501 ·
I have replaced those self imposed limitations with thank-fullness and un-limited viewing into the possibilities of what can yet be….

Thank you, Frank, I needed this inspiration, today.

Lew
 
#504 ·
Wood Studies and....

Wood Studies and….



….wood studies and stopping to take a break,
english decides to follow me around for a bit,
but soon discovers there's more to wood studies,
that meets the eye of a feline in the grip of the moment….
-by flp

-------------------------------------------------------------

Coming soon to a blog near you, a new word and wood story on the happenings that come
my way, this time of the year while I am out in the woods riding, walking and once again
back to one of my most favorite loves….chainsawing in the woods and fields where I play.

This study will be on what I call 'gathering mode' and takes place this time of the year while
I am out in the woods. Before one can work the wood, one must go out and gather the wood
in its natural place of habitat. Since I for the most part do not frequent lumber yards, except
to acquire those pieces of wood that where it not for my eye, would be headed for pulp mills,
I gather my own wood from my own forest and land.

Be sure and watch for 'Wood Gathering Mode' coming soon….and;

Title Page Wood Gathering Mode: An Introduction http://lumberjocks.com/frank/blog/15127
Chapter 1; Holes….Wood….and Wood Gathering Mode http://lumberjocks.com/frank/blog/15153

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

--
"....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood...."
 
#513 ·
Wood Gathering Mode: An Introduction

Wood Gathering Mode: An Introduction



….wood and hobbits have a way of drawing from each other,
so enter in at this enclave and find your-self in an-other world,
far from the streams of endless mind clutter that sucks one dry,
till I pull my-self through a space bigger then meets the eye,
this is where I am released into a world that knows no-boundaries,
no-boundaries and therefore no-time restraints and one is free to wonder….
-by flp

----------------------------------------------------------------------

….ever so often one needs to gather.



Weather permitting, I look forward to this time of the year as a chance to get out-side of my confinements of the winter and find inspiration in the woods that so surround me. And so slowly over the course of the coming days and weeks, I start re-turning to those places that have been places of buried silence through-out the winter months. Some of these places I alone know of, some have been shared with wife when we both go out….and then there are those that I guard with deepest jealousy, that I would never reveal to an-other soul. And then there are also those near and far places that go beyond my neck of the woods, places I have found by just out walking on the prowl (on a Walkabout), plus the ones that I have put together by studying maps and reading in the old accounts of yesterday's seekers into the woods of New England.

Not being a techno freak out here in the woods and to the point of even shunning GPS systems, I prefer to go into the woods trusting on my honorable compass and the gut instincts of one who has long ago learned to listen to the woods. Not much is needed out here beyond sketch pad, a journal, a camera plus extra batteries, my jet boil, tea, water, nuts, and dried fruit. Just release me into the woods and my spirit soars to a place of no-boundaries, no-limits, and the future (my future) is caught up in the laughter of the now, as expressed by and in the woods. Gathering mode is a place where I never re-turn empty-minded, my mind is filled with all the opportunities of possibilities that exist within this space of time we call 'the now'. Gathering mode leads me into the fields of imagination, where inspiration is all-ways just around the next tree and my dreams are given by the ancients of the woods, to be received in thanks-giving and used in my visions of 'wood art'. Gathering mode requires no-computer and therefore draws not from the grids of a power backed society. Gathering mode needs no-books, no-cd's, no-videos and my camera is an-other machine which can often be turned off if I or the woods so desires a moment of threnody. Gathering mode produces riches and wealth that far exceeds all the monies and precious metals of this world, plus will in-turn create a state of health that draws upon the abundance of what is all around me….and mind you that this is being said by one who knows and lives with hepatic dis-ease on a daily and nightly basis. And for this writing which includes a place of high-lite//high-life, there is the re-turn to my workshop,where I can lay forth all my gathered treasures, while I start listening over time for these to start speaking of what their future destinies are to be-come in works of 'wood art'.

Much of what I have learned about working the wood, comes from my sittings and gazing upon the beauty of creation that is written in trees. How better to learn of wood joinery, then to take the time of silence and look with the eyes of a seer, into seeing the many joints of a tree along with it's branches….understanding their joinery and stress points, even why some have held intact and others have failed over their life-span. Do you want to understand wood finishes, then go and study the bark of different trees….those that are today still standing and also the ones now laying on the ground dead and rotting but still able to teach much. How about understanding the foundations of legs as found in benches, chairs and tables….then go and start by looking upon the young shoots in their early beginnings while following others as they grow into youth and the mature years, and then look upon the 'ancients' and how they have in turn are living their days upon the earth. Again joinery and how two woods go together while in-turn complimenting each other, look to the trees and see how they give way to each other and so in the end two trees be-come as one….and yes, this is both a magnificent sight and learning experience. Trees have taught me what I never could have learned by way of an-other or who I like to call 'noisy man' in all his synagogs (crematories) of dead learning….(does this statement offend you?) well then go and labor by what other's are willing to sell you, but in the end if one continues to aspirations of being a worker of wood, you will reject all that and go forth to learn from the real source as found in wood by trees.

Next I will admit//concede that if one has no-time for this type of wood learning, one is better to just be-come a clone of the taste of his//her choice….and just proceed to being a soaker of the quick fix. Learning in silence from the trees as they re-veal wood does take time and years, while not giving much to put on a resume and will over time not exactly make you fit in with the regular woodworking crowd, but at the same time it will not allow one to dry up with wood dreams and will also sustain one through-out the lean times. One of the saddest moments is what other woodworkers tell me when their quick fixed emotions of woodworking fail, their newly bought tools start to gather dust and then they tell me they're done with woodworking….moving on they say. So turning the page so to speak they often go off the wood working field in search off some-thing more along the lines of where they now are dreaming. I often talk of my wood dreams and how these dreams work along in the process with inspiration and coupled by imagination, but your dreams will never produce fruit until you can get your hands busy at working the wood. All one's dreams will in turn be-come as clouds with-out water….hot air, until the moment comes when your dreams give birth to legs….legs to stand upon and legs that give action to those hands that have been faineant, during those times you have spent in gathering mode. I can-not say enough about gathering mode, but what must needs come next is action on the part of the woodworker….that in-turn leads to those works of 'wood art' one needs to produce in order to not be-come stagnant. In my experience these times of work that come after gathering will also lead me to dis-connect from all outside influence. I will stop looking at wood creations created by other's, while also being care-full or guarded about what I read and talk about concerning the creation I am bringing forth. Even my wife knows that I'm not going to tell her much about what is going on, as I really do not want to hear other's opinions….and often I will un-plug from woodworking forums and go off into silence.

The idea I am trying to bring forth and paint a picture of here is that 'gathering mode' is where it all starts. Whether I am silent or speaking with words that have gripped my soul, is just the all and all of who I am. Visitors and clients who come here to see me often expect to be shown great wonders in my workshop, where they can sit around and chew on the fat of what's going on. Imagine their surprise when I tell them my workshop is just that 'my workshop', but if they really want to see where it all starts and where I live….then follow me into the woods. When these call me up wanting to come and visit, I express that they should wear comfortable casual or walking clothes along with some good boots and that I will include the food….though it will be vegetarian in essence, and yes cameras are allowed for all outside activity. My expressions of 'wood art' are learned from the woods and though I did live in that asphalt jungle of a past era, I want these customers to leave all that behind them while here and come into a new plane of understanding about where their work of art is coming from. These forest and woods that so surround me are my 'living wood art gallery' where the trees and animals know me, not as a hunter come to take their life….but as a 'gather' who comes to first gather understanding and then take with me what the ancients of trees have so passed on for my use. In the end where I started as a gather now be-comes a place where I once again am a harbinger of that to come.

Ramble-ramble-snap-and-fizzle, my how the words flow like those wood chips that come flying off the end of my chainsaw, till once again I know that this is what I came here for.

….a 'very good' place to start, and down there in the bottom right corner you will see a dark spot where we shall enter in at….



….and so I will leave us walking today, a path that goes into the woods as we go forth to meet some of my friends….



....to be continued:

Wood Studies and…. http://lumberjocks.com/frank/blog/15086
Chapter 1; Holes….WoodWorking….and Wood Gathering Mode http://lumberjocks.com/frank/blog/15153

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

"....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood...."
 
#514 ·
'noisy man' in all his synagogs (crematories) of dead learning….(does this statement offend you?)

If you wish to see The Creator and all His glory, step out into the woods and open your eyes. His hand is all around you.

I'm walking right behind you, Frank.

Lew
 
#518 ·
Holes....WoodWorking....and Wood Gathering Mode

Holes….WoodWorking….and Wood Gathering Mode

I've been thinking lately about 'holes' and how they are used in my working of the 'wood'. I had not noticed this trend until I started reviewing my photos here at LJ's over the years. What seems to be coming out of this endeavor is that I use these holes as a point of ingress into my world of 'wood art'.

I have all-ways talked about boxes and the need to get out of your box, so that one can be free to see-touch-feel-(and there is a difference, we first touch and then if the object of our touching is pleasant, we next proceed to feel)-smell-hear-taste-talk and out in the woods I will often talk and sing amongst the trees. This activity allows us to create first in our head and then in the wood it-self. That was until most recently when I realized that no-one can ever get out of their box, till the cover of the box has been un-veiled. Boxes are all around us and does one ever truly live outside their box//boxes, or are for-ever exchanging one box for a bigger box? Houses, cars, trucks, factories, the woods, stores, our daily news shows, the internet along with it's web sites, thinking, religion, politics, marriage,....our woodworking and our wood shops….etc. All of these and all the more will and can be-come dead boxes where people just live and die full-fill their roll playing….until one-day the lid of their box is re-moved or un-veiled. All the world is a box….as I once removed the box of my wood shop and so exchanged it for a bigger box that was 360 degrees out-side, only to find I had just moved to a bigger box.

The holes that I find come in all four of the seasons and are a means of un-veiling, so that I might enter in-to a place where I am free to dream of the splendiferous accomplishments of working the wood, that will turn-out my 'wood art'.

The following are just some of the holes that I have recorded here at LJ's during my years of blogging….and yes, I'm sure that I have still missed many of them….:

….a new one taken yesterday (2010-04-14) that celebrates spring and it's coming. This one is taken from in-side my kayak which I also use as an-other vehicle for and during 'wood gathering mode'. I could tell stories so many of all the wood I have gathered over the years using a kayak and canoe and yes many of those stories I have re-corded here at LJ. All-ways looking for holes and so I enter in….



….one wood hole I used yesterday….



….remember to all-ways look up, there's all-ways a special hole in the trees….



….in times of spring I find holes….



….this one was actually taken at the end of summer and getting reading for fall….



….again….towards the end of summer and watching for fall….



….is there a hole here, ah yes, the top of Mt. Washington….



….I found//find a hole in a wood piece in my wood shop….



….hole in the woods looking out….



….summer holes in the White Mountains, giving time to stop, relax and meditate….



….an-other hole above my wood shop (this actually is where I store and dry lumber) that often calls me to come and sit in silence….



….a winter time hole that was a place of un-veiling….



….driving up north with fall approaching I find a hole at the end of a covered bridge.…



….yes there is a hole right there in the center of the young pine….



….I even create holes as in this piece of walnut….



….for 'things' that need to fill those holes….



….some-times I even play with giving holes some extra color….



….holes invite enchantment….



….holes as found in the trunks of rotted trees that be-come homes for wasp nests….



….holes that invite me to look out as I sit in one of our cabins on the back enclosed deck, relaxing at the end of a hard days work….



….this hole comes from the yet to be sun-room of an-other cabin….



….forest holes after a new winter virgin snow gives permission to enter in….


….a hole in the trunk of a great oak that has gone dead, that I need to take down….



….ant holes on the drive-way out-side the barn….



….a wood hole in the trunk of an apple tree, in-side looking out-side….



….an-other hole in the trunk of that same cherry tree, this one showing the spalting in-side the trunk. This photo was also one of my first to be posted and blogged about here at LJ and how small we were back then….



….and so, since we started with the celebration of coming spring….I will now end for now with a place I like to go to in the winter. One more hole, which is an ice cave….plenty of wood thoughts in here.



Well that's it for now and I did leave out many other holes, but then how many can I record? These are an example to wet your taste that you also might go forth and look for places of holes and the un-veiling of your box. I have found holes in the city….big city-small city, just as I find now holes in the country and in the forest of our woods. It makes no-difference to me or you, but we can all find holes out there that will lead us to wood. In the end I hope you enjoy this photo blog as much as I have….and this has in-deed been a labor of love. What I'm now wondering is; what does this say about who I am….and has this be-come a passion of love or a obsession of my own fantasy?

....to be continued:

Wood Studies and…. http://lumberjocks.com/frank/blog/15086
Title Page; Wood Gathering Mode: An Introduction http://lumberjocks.com/frank/blog/15127

Thank you.
Godspeed,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

--
"....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood...."
 
#526 ·
What Is Your Size of Wood Art

What is Your Size of Wood Art….



….or does size matter when it comes to working the wood? What is the size you think of when working with wood? And so I have put together a few photos of how I often see into the wood. Trees come in all shapes and sizes and what I do with them often determines their final proportion. Now that I think upon that last sentence I am not sure about the use of the words….'final proportion'. How often have I my-self often received some piece of wood art, only to disagree with how the previous owner presented his art….and so I will tap into the wood and find a new way of showing. Take for instance how tables can be-come cabinets and hutches or barn siding can be-come tables and benches….and so with time all wood just goes around completing the circle.

Take for instance here how this one started, the little piece of white oak was a leftover from last years woodpile stacking and throughout the winter months just kept coming into my view as the snows would recede. Then often it would disappear from sight when new snow moved in….but this piece of wood never left my memory as the winter continued. Then comes spring and I place the piece of oak in a more safe habitat where I watch it each evening as I gather wood for the evenings fire. By now I know I have a piece of 'wood art' waiting to erupt before my eyes. Remember I'm still in what I call 'gathering mode' and so I'm just letting time bring forth in her own way.

Next you will see the larger block of pine, which has been sitting out-side for too many years now and this is one we use as a small table in the back of the house for water and cups of tea as we watch the sun go down in the evenings. So one evening we're sitting out back and I just can-not seem to settle down, so I'm roaming through varies pieces of wood when, I remember the small piece of curly oak and then my mind flashes to the piece of timber cut pine. Well that's all it takes and we have a marriage of two different sizes of wood along with species.
By now I know I'm on the right track, while my-self also calms down as I sit down to enjoy the evening sunset….hmmm, all this going on in-side my head and my wife has no-idea of what has just transpired.

So this after-noon I'm down in the cellar of the barn working, when my eyes rest upon this piece of timber (hemlock) from the barn construction eight years ago. That's right eight years ago and I never throw good wood away….actually back then I heard this one speak to me and tell me then an idea of how it would be used. So I haul the timber up to front of my barn and start listening as these two pieces of wood start telling me how they are to be brought forth. This was//is only the roughing in of the wood out-side, where after all that was done today I carry them into my shop for hours of final tuning and finishing yet ahead.

For now I will speak my few words and let the photos speak their thousands of words, about who they are….

….sunset watcher….



….punky wood re-mov-all….



….fine cut with a chainsaw to within an 1/8'', while second cut puts it right on the line….



….wood as in touch with nature….



….tenon joint, white oak and hemlock pine….



….moving on for now.

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

-
''....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....''
 
#530 ·
Wood Screams In The Dark

Wood Screams In The Dark



….now if i could only think with a memory,
i might be able to re-member just who I am,
the words though there come slower to my mind,
and so i argue with my-self that who i see is not me….

--or is it--

….that i was born to work the wood but now i feel alone,
much of my time is spent trying to stay one step ahead,
in this more darker be-ing that pursues me now in time,
my-dis-ease of hepatic encephalopathy bids me comatose….

--or is it--

….my state of dreaming and soon i shall awake from sleep,
only to find that my hands are stable and working in action,
time was when i chose my way before the beauty of wood,
soon i will await word that a transplant to translate is ready….

--or is it--

….more and better to just give thanks with a liver of love,
why sweat the small stuff when each of my days bears fruit,
i am bigger then this dis-eased liver dragon which i can slay,
so i go deep with-in and gather metallum for a worthy sword….

--'just is'--

….shall yet bear me up on eagle wings where time is beginning,
my days will yet turn ahead to more of the blessings of 'wood art',
just as now on clear days I can see into the holes of forest calling,
what 'just is' can never be taken back and so my soul of wood dwells….

--thank-full-ness--


--by flp

------------------------------------------------------

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

-
''....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....''
 
#540 ·
Burl On A Spit

Burl On A Spit



….wood can out-tell tales,
skewered through i ringed my heart,
two sides of my-self….
-by flp

-------------------------------------------------------------

….these are the tales that the ancients brought to me out of wood,
back in the forests of yester-year that lean towards future-year,
i learned to sit in silence and gather from the trees of their wisdom,
but what good is wisdom if there are none to hear the words spoken,
so with that in mind i will speak forth what was spoken to me….

….two tales spoken and yet one wood burl i found in the woods,
as to residence i will let the burls place of rest be un-spoken now,
why should i take away from the trust that was formed when we met,
but in re-turn i shall yet give forth a lyric if any have ears to hear words,
i only sat and gathered the tale while the genius of genus is the wood….
-by flp

---------------------------------------------------------------

These next two stories shall come forth in two installments, but I should warn any who read that I am going on a kayak walk-about in a day or two, so I'm not going to get to the future writings and readings till I come back. One explanation of a kayak walk-about is that I am going off the face of earth here and now into the wilds of other terrain.

I found the wood burl last week while gathering in the forests around here, but the tale did not un-fold till I took the time to listen, what I heard was an amazing story, spoken from the mouth of one such as this burl. What else can I say but thanks to all who read, and will yet yearn to read and sit in silence to hear 'an others' words spoken, far out of the mainstream of hominal soma speak-easies.

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

-
''....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....''
 
#549 ·
Wood and I....Sculpture

Wood and I….Sculpture


….while walking down the isles of life's design,
i was roiled enough to loose my way on a walk-about,
the forest and trees no-longer fed this hunger within,
and for days becoming years my dreams died as inaesthetic….

….that was in-deed the hole i dug until i had no-strength dig deeper,
what came next was confronting my dragon and refusing his lies any-more,
so i went back to the woods fearing to hope and believe what i might find,
what i found was that whether i failed or succeeded that choice was not mine,

….life and i plus wood cannot ever truly be taken away unless i let my dreams go,
so i set my eyes on some wood and started hearing the wood as it told a story,
the story took me back too times past when men sculptured the wood by hand,
next i took a piece of maple burl and cut off a log sitting out in my log station….

….now again i have started getting my passion for wood back after two years plus,
this silence of my being is one i don't call bad or good as it has just been where 'i am',
my working the wood and sculpture is firmly set in my mind till my body brings closure,
wood sculpture will resurrect my mind-my body will resurrect by liver transplant or death,
--this is the story that the wood told me--
-by flp
--------------------------------------------------

So what 'pray tell' has all these words been speaking about up until this point, while gleaning some wisdom for now and any now's to come. Lets take a fresh look at the cut burl, refusing to be led amiss by time and; ''well it's just a piece of wood''. How many times have I said this, only to miss out on the beauty that has all-ready been written within the wood.

Beauty only gives her-self to one who willing to take all she is! What about the times we take beauty for what is be-holden on the out-side, and never probing beneath her surface….till we are often disappointed with what we have received? This burl was hand cut with a chain saw and then just sat waiting her time which brings out an-other side of beauty, she is patient never demanding her way or feeling the need to be right. I can remember how I dealt with 'situation control', before liver disease showed me who was really in control. She knows that her life has now been placed in my hands and soon will come the knife, chisel, gouge too sculpture a new image. In all of this we shall yet also learn some of what beauty can teach us as I sculpture a 'wooden beauty'.

Next on my blog story in this series, I will turn the wood around and we shall see if there be any beauty in-side….? As I start getting more involved in this sculpture, the pictures will start showing more of the tools I am using and their purpose for this work of art. We shall also be viewing how the wood takes on a new life of it's own….which I can only hope also be-comes my story, when one day I get a second chance at life!

Shalom
GODSPEED
freeman
 
#550 ·
that is the most powerful posting you have made, (to me anyway…. )
it is so beautiful - it made me cry, it made my Spirit soar, it made we long to go walk in my gardens..
beautiful Frank. Beautiful
 
#560 ·
Sculptured Wood Beauty

Sculptured Wood Beauty

''....a time to turn the page! He who lives in the woods and forest, will at getimians break forth into the many places of solitude, where he sits with the wood spirits as they offer forth words of wisdom and truth…."



….as i walk out the stories that have been written within my-self,
mine eyes have be-come more conductive to light and darkness,
which has be-come a most use-full tool in my tool wrap called life,
for what individual can dream and then see their dreams bear fruit….

….in my earliest blog stories here i talked of the connection that feeds,
that connection was of what will each of us do with imagination and dreams,
one can take the approach that all this is an abstract of deny reality in seeing,
or one can choose to be-lieve for the betterment that comes from excogitation….

….so once again i started be-lieving in my-self and decided to conduct from life,
which in turn took me back to my tree roots where i embarked to be-come intertwined,
with wood once again and then a lumberjock friend sent me a beauti-full wooden box,
that wooden box be-came a tease to me as i watched it day to day from a spot of envy….

….that was when I remembered this piece of a wooden burl in the barn be-coming enamored,
enamored with beauty of a maple burl from where I sat was the passion that be-came fire,
now that one has beauty and the passion of wood brings us to a point of action and decision,
by which we will all be known of men as a talker or doer before the doors of truth and love….
-by flp
---------------------------------------------------

Once upon a time about three years ago I cut a maple, in order to relieve the stress being put upon that part of our land of too many trees that were beginning to clutter. My wife was with me clearing the clutter of fallen branches while I also de-limbed. We were breaking new ground and creating a new road into a part of the forest we had never taken the atv into, except by walking. When I'm working out here with my wife….there's not much stopping since she's the opposite of me….no-silence, no-meditation out here, but we also know each other very good in the forest which makes for good, safe work together out here.

As with all log gathering, very often you will come upon a tree that for some reason of design just draws you. So it was with this tree, and even though this one had a burl on the side of the tree, that alone is not the purpose of why I cut this tree. So I took the chain saw and brought this one down and the next step in this logging process would be my burn pile. Can I count the times that a piece of the tree is saved from the firewood pile not to face into the belly of the beast….our wood-stove?

"….if one could walk into the mind of a wood burl, what would the understanding be. Greater and larger trees than this one have all met face to face with the wood cutter, who ply's his trade so that other's might have wood. It's not the wood that one takes, but the wood that is found that produces sculptured wood beauties such as I have loved. Together, tree and I conduct an agreement that passes the rights of one into the hands of an-other. By this covenant we will live-die and abide…."



"….did you take the time today to really stare into the face of this cut maple burl? On the face of it there appears the saw marks that re-moved the burl from from the tree and this is all bathed in light. Next I look deeply into the inner face, where the soul of this burl draws forth her strength and beauty. Here I find darkness so that just like a lady she might enshroud her-self till the time of more exposure…."

This log sat in the deep woods some years, far removed from other's eyes till I could finish the atv road. And then my strength gave out, excessive anemic condition, along with all else that comes with liver dis-ease….the whole package and more. Next came the settling in of what the doctors and surgeons told me, so I put away all my logging and woodworking tools….this be-came my hell on earth. Over a year ago a friend of mine dragged the log in to be cut up that day for firewood, this is when we noticed the burl and cut her off. The covent we made (tree and I) back then is still in effect today, plus I realize this one piece of 'wood art' might be my last. These decisions are not in my control any longer and so I live the moment of now in each and every day.

There is a lot more yet to come as I transform this 'in the ruff and buff ' burl into what I hope can be worthy of our covenant (between tree and I) and that this burl will have some-thing to say beyond words.

Thank you.
GODSPEED
freeman

-
''....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood….''
 
#561 ·
A very interesting piece, it will be nice to see what your final touches will bring forth.
 
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