….what the kings see here,
is the opportunity,
to go and create….
—-by flp

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Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com

Two of my other woodworking blogs:
http://frank.wordpress.com/
——and——
http://rusticwoodart.tumblr.com/

—-
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”

….two trees blowing in the wind,
a mighty forest surrounds these centennial’s,
two loner’s sending out their branching eaves,
many sentients come to waunder along the way….

….two trees I have known,
two loners walk blindly on by,
many sentients tell these tales,
wood or worker inspires one….
—-by flp

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Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com

Two of my other woodworking blogs:
http://frank.wordpress.com/
——and——
http://rusticwoodart.tumblr.com/

—-
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”

….at some point in my woodworking story,
the point was made that i must create beyond,
“beyond what” i heard my-self asking again until,
“until the dreams you have be-come art” i perceived….

….so much was my relief that came from sitting with wood,
to understand the perceptions of wood as be-ing a player,
creating art is the releasing of a work built first in-side,
and as the art explains it-self i convert that out-side….
—-by flp

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Just to think upon an art-full creation is to give life into that object before you. In art there is no such thing as good or bad, as what is laid out before the eyes of the be-holders, is interpreted by their perceptual experience. Working with wood was first brought out from my need to convert wood into a cash product….and then there was the need to heat my castle. Supplying heat for my wood-stoves took me back into the woods where I found my-self working with trees. To give the short version here, is that in those woods I found the silence of soul that I craved. It was in this silence that I learned to listen to trees and the stories they were more then willing to share with one noisy as I used to be. Much could be written about trees, but let me just say that I started learning a new type of wood joinery (or might I go and say; living tree//branch joinery), along with the beauty of experiencing their natural art. Experiencing art, now there’s a new one to think upon, till one will also need make use of their many senses, which will often ‘make use’ of the many more then five traditionally taught senses. Well enough said for now….and lets proceed on to working the wood.

Unorthodox WoodWorking Tools….

To give a better understanding of the piece of wood art I am bringing forth….known as KuroKongouseki and so I have decided to include some of the more unorthodox woodworking tools I am using at the moment on this piece. You may notice that the tools so far are all of the non-electrical form for working wood. Yes, when I originally took the tree down I did use a gasoline chainsaw, and then I did use the chainsaw to free hand cut this wood slab, but since then all my tools have been hand powered. Slowly over time I have started un-plugging my power tools, finding that now….the only tools that excite me any-more are of the hand powered type. While many in this day of woodworking have decided to move forward to more and bigger (better?) powered tools, I have by choice chosen to move back in time learning a new way of working the wood through un-conventional thought and technique. Slowly over time I have been giving away some of my smaller power tools and who knows but that yet in the future I shall be free of all those power tools that were used to malign the wood after my way of thinking. Again let me add here that for all woodworkers who use and want to acquire more power tools, I am in no-way making a judgment upon you as to good or bad….this is just my way and direction I am evolving into.

I have not posted many pictures of the more recent burn-in, except for that one photo at the start of this story and then I decided to show some of the tools I used to get the look above. First I made use of a larger model of a propane torch that I often use around here on the land….

….next there are the pair of dogs used to give a good all around burn. I can now move on….

….to my last set of tools used on the blackened wood slab. First you will see is the woolite scrubbie that is used to remove all excess carbon charcoal on the wood piece and then of course I use a good stiff and broken in brush to further clean the project. I might mention that there will come soon, a time when I will use a plugged in power tool of sorts….which is an electrical blower to further clean out and into the cracks of the wood. So you may also understand now that I am no-purist when it comes to working the wood….

….more to come:
KuroKongouseki
Charcoal Dreams of A WoodWorking Passion
Phantom of My Woodworking Heart
WoodWorks

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com

Two of my other woodworking blogs:

http://frank.wordpress.com/
….and….
http://rusticwoodart.tumblr.com/

—-
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”

….wood-fire-ash-smoke-black,
can your depths be understood,
patiently i act….
—-by flp

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank

RusticWoodArt
rusticwoodman@gmail.com

Two of my other woodworking blogs:
http://frank.wordpress.com/
….and….
http://rusticwoodart.tumblr.com/

—-
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”

….out of the city i walked one day into a forest of wood,
never looking back at those objects that once held me,
saving my soul from the plight of the lost and un-redeemed,
i came to re-pair my-self from the time zone of asphalt jungles….

….those ills i took on then back there in that forest of steel,
have now cursed me again with a reminder of a jaded past,
but I am far better now by the under-standing i gained from wood,
i was made for wood and in this medium of art i soon came forth….

….i still remember a man who worked to furnish his own ego,
but out here a man’s ego has no-place against a forest of trees,
soon i waundered into the woods to place my mark upon the land,
only to realize that sooner than later the mark was placed on me….

….learning the ways of wood taught by the words of ancient trees,
i soon learned that the meaning of silence is not what other’s taught,
silence can-not be bought or taught but comes after the death of self,
out here empty spaces tell no-lies to a wood hermit turned hobbit….
—-by flp

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This feels like a hard story to write about, one slab of wood against a backdrop of silken fire desire. But what I have found in a life-time of writing words, is that if I will just be faith-full and write, then the words will come spilling out. Best that I can tell you is that this is much like how after cutting one’s finger the blood flows forth, same with my writing….lay a pen across the phantom of my wood-working heart and the words just flow.

So I will start out by setting forth the main actor in this word-full wood play….and I shall call her ‘KuroKongouseki’ or if your not following my Japanese word usage, then we can go with my jeweled ‘black diamond’. KuroKongouseki came into my life about 2 years ago and has been sitting outside gathering her beauty from the seasons of elements due to weather. During that span of time I have all-ways had my eye on her and, ever so often I would stop by where she was resting, to sit a spell and check her out.

Today I started a new and fifth burn on her, but for this blog//story I am going to re-capture some of those earlier burns. Some of what I am posting has all-ready been posted in different stories over the past couple of weeks, but today I am gathering all that information together in one act. The added treat is that there is much in the way I have chosen to work this piece, both in pictures and information, so brew your-self up a cup of tea, sit back and enjoy….and also remember that the wood, KuroKongouseki….all-ways has the last word.

My Jeweled Black Diamond

Every story must have a beginning, so I shall start with how this piece, which is full of character and also shows how the wood has mellowed with age….

….what comes now is the start of the first burn….

….in which I proceed to use a small propane torch. Next I’ll start my second burn….

….while this burn is started to produce a much better burn, with some smoke thrown in. After leaving for about 30 minutes to do some work in the workshop, I re-turned to this pleasing sight….

….and now it’s time to mix it all up with 10 gallons of water.

After letting the chunk-o-hunk piece of wood sit outside for a couple of days, it then be-came time to bring the wood in. Well one of these days I might start working with smaller pieces of wood, but until then I guess I’ll keep working to get these ‘smaller’ sizes up. I will say that this one is not a big as what I have worked with in the past….

….some of my chisels that I use on my ‘wood art’ starts….

….and some more. You may also notice the ‘all’ handmade chisels, and I do not spend much time making these….whatever hardwood and then some-times softwood is handy.

Before the burn and….

….now I can get on with the third burn in and yes, I did this one in phases . I started doing a section of the wood complete with burning and then I would use the green woolite scrubbies, followed up with #80 grit sandpaper and then a brush….

….and, you will also notice the wood pattern here.

Moving on I then went to more of a heavy burn….

….and then the clean up. Done for the day.

Coming back the next day, since it was raining and I could not work in the woods, I proceeded to burn some more….

….and then the clean-up of the wood….

….with an-other view. You may notice in this photo how I have also cleaned up the crack in the middle of the wood with a timber chisel.

Well that’s all for this blog post….and if you’re wondering how far I’m going to ‘charcoal’ this piece of wood, just wait for my next post….and yes, plenty yet to come.

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com

Two of my other wood blogs:

http://frank.wordpress.com/
….and….
http://rusticwoodart.tumblr.com/

—-
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”

….hand tools made for wood,
old ways yearn to express self,
passion breathes new flame….
—-by flp

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….it’s not the fire with-out,
but the fire with-in,
that creates the who i am,
of my wooden landscape….

And so once again I must ask….”who lights the fire, that burns in yonder tree ”?

I’m at a new beginning here, since I’m preparing to turn the heat up some-what….and start charbroiling some oak. This wood piece is rich in ages of history, full of stories to tell and yet to be-come a work of ‘wood art’. My opportunity of yet to come, is that there are pictures to upload, the casting of a character to set in place, and then I also have to keep the work moving along ahead of the story. Now what I’m going to say next may sound as the words of a mad man, (unless you’ve read much of my previous ramblings)....and that is, the wood has not told me the end of the story as of yet, so I am working on the fly.

….more to come!

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank

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

—-
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”

So after last night….

I decided it was time to resume my identity, as I am known to mortals. Last night’s photo avatar was a way of closing out a time worn photo image of my-self and, since I am much younger now, I thought I would post a newer version—vision of who I am. This one will run a short while here, till I can come up with a better picture of a hermit turned wood hobbit who lives ‘out in the woods’.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Hermit Turned Wood Hobbit

….should you ever go walking in my neck of the woods,
you may hear the footsteps of one who is following behind,
not that i am ever really behind but more one who is close by trees,
many are my waunderings here amongst the scattered landscape….

….but what-ever this place may be for others who come this way,
to me it is the holy ground that opens before the eye-of-i that i am,
trees give my soul the needed inspiration that feeds my spirit of wood,
so stop you may and feel my painted brush of wind that stirs the leaves….
—-by flp

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Now lets move on to the picture from yesterdays blog story and show an-other side….

….what ended up last night as the ‘darker side of wood’.... (hmmm, don’t we all have a dark side) had it’s be-ginnings from a picture I took last evening in the shop….

….and then that photo image comes from one wood piece that I cut and started drying out 5-6 years ago. Recently I brought this piece into my shop, and to tell the truth I just can-not stop looking over at the area in my shop, where I have placed this ‘free form wood piece’. Ah, the beauties of wood….

....worked in the area of the above mentioned piece, for the afternoon into early evening on this one here….

….and so I will be posting some more pictures and stories of this one as I continue in my working of the wood.

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

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

—-
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”

….from the blackened fire-side of the burl i come,
i came—i come but once a year to walk this way,
and what does it matter for whom the moon calls to-night,
that is the one I will invite to come live inside my burning burl,
after all is said and done i re-member i am a hobbit in my hobbit hole….
—-by flp

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Thank You.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

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

—-
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”

These Ten Commandmentsments on seeing/drawing were revealed to me on a mountain, but also in a meadow, on a beach and even in the subway. For their revelation did not come all at once, but in installments, as it were, over the years, and always while I was busy drawing, and invariably on holy ground. But that may be because, while drawing, all ground is holy: unseparated from the Whole.

1. You shall draw everything and every day
2. You shall not wait for inspiration, for it comes not while you wait but while you work
3. You shall forget all you think you know and, even more, all you have been taught
4. You shall not adore your good drawings and promptly forget your bad ones
5. You shall not draw with exhibitions in mind, nor to please any critic but yourself
6. You shall trust none but your own eye, and make your hand follow it
7. You shall consider the mouse you draw as more important than the contents of all the museums in the world, for
8. You shall love the ten thousand things with all your heart and a blade of grass as yourself
9. Let each drawing be your first: A celebration of the eye awakened
10. You shall not worry about “being of your time”, for you are your time
And it is brief
by Frederick Franck

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And so I thought how about using these principles in and for woodworking, and I came up with my version//vision of a woodworkers ten commandments.

My WoodWorking Ten Commandments

1. You shall work the wood in everything and every day
2. You shall not wait for inspiration, for it comes not while you wait but while you work
3. You shall forget all you think you know and, even more, all you have been taught
4. You shall not adore your good works of wood art and promptly forget your bad ones
5. You shall not work the wood with exhibitions in mind, nor to please any critic but yourself
6. You shall trust none but your own eye, and make your hand follow it
7. You shall consider the wood you plane as more important than the contents of all the museums in the world, for
8. You shall love the ten thousand things with all your heart and the shavings of wood as yourself
9. Let each work of wood art be your first: A celebration of the eye awakened
10. You shall not worry about “being of your time”, for you are your time
And it is brief

—-borrowed from Fredrick Franck’s Ten Commandments, with my own version. My substitutions are in italics….

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

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

—-
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”

….tis time to re-pair,
so I re-turn home with grace,
I re-member wood….
—-by flp

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And NOW for the other side of the story….

….words speak and take up so much space, better to hear from a picture.

Twinings of WoodArt: http://lumberjocks.com/frank/blog/10588

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

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

—-
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”