….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

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
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

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

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

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
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....”

….silkened oak wood grain,
shadows of a black diamond,
concept of wood dream….
—-by flp

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

I’m not sure where this one is going at the moment, or even whats be-come//be-coming
of my wood art….?!? It seems that my mind is running more free from the confines of all
that ‘the society of other’s’ have tried to in-doctrinate me with. There were those past times
and ages when I proceeded through the traditions of man according to woodworking, but I
was all-ways left high and dry by what came forth….

….till now my soul beckons me on-ward to explore more. What can happen when wood is
united with fire, such as is seen herein with this oak slab that I free-hand cut some two years
ago….

….or maybe more important is what can happen with ‘me’, as I keep tearing down the walls
of the box//boxes that so surround and try to cling to my-self? What happens when the artist
totally goes beyond a place of under-standing within himself and surely beyond the reach of
others in his dream? And so I started burning this one earlier in the week….

….reaching for a natural wood finish of preservation. I have been thinking more and more as
of late on how to be-come more at one with my environment and my roots of woodworking.
Fire and wood gives place to a carbonization process that can create a long lasting wood self
preservation….but which leaves me wondering about my own self preservation along the way….

….and who knows, since the worst thing a person can do is ‘not failing’, but being afraid of failure
and therefore never stepping out of his//her box to see if failure is possible. My-self, I say ”failure is
impossible, since we have been hard-wired to create our own (many) possibilities and the worst thing is to spend your life asking the question ‘what if ’ ”!

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

And yes, I have combined two blog stories here, so I will finish up with this one. Two for the price of one, to some that may be a blessing….to ‘others’ a curse….so go on and get that second cup of tea and sit down and loose your-self in the thinking process.

WoodWindows of the Soul

….a wood-worker’s challenge is to find food for their soul’s respite ,
and you thought i was going to say a “hoard of board wood”,
or maybe trunks of trees to be used in carving out sculpture,
but with-out that soul-food one is left with-in the planes of ordinary….

….there are times and seasons when i need to gather to the woods,
where the hours can pass me by till i be-come full-filled by inspiration,
and so i walk-hike-waunder with my camera taking notice of all space,
space to let my imagination run wild and free from self imposed limits….

….took to the trail today following a path that proceeded from my heart,
out and about i was glad to get ahead of the hunters in the area herein,
colors are still good in the woods and many were the more far off views,
every-thing i needed was found outside the confinements of a backpack….

….out here i can study wood in the elements of season and weather finish,
some of these trees i keep coming back for-to celebrate their many designs,
i have found that wood tells a very natural story due to the environs of place,
and all creation awaits the next chapter that comes from turning the page….

….how many have went in-to the woods to start by reading his-story of trees,
only to find a blank space after turning the page they hoped would bark a story,
from here comes the under-standing that to be over-standing one must write ahead,
writing be-comes a place where imagination connects with a picture of what is art….

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

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

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

….living in a wood dream,
against back-drops of color,
mt. washington sings….
—-by flp

———————————————————————————————————————————————————
….how often my walks be-come lost in a dream with-out,
where all that goes on in my back-yard around the farm,
is much the same such stagnate matter as what’s in my head,
and the ill’s of time can start to bog me down in stereotype….

….remembering a time when i sold my soul-full designs,
to the highest bidder in the wood-jams of ‘who’s on first’,
how i over-came that one is an-other story that still goes on,
what matters now is more about where i stand at end of day….

….how to be healthy, wealthy and wise occupied most my time,
and i sold my soul daily in those temples of merchant ex-change,
never under-standing why my soul raged in-side with so much fury,
i worked the wood but my loss was in not understanding the wood….

….sure we write books and study wood while listening to other’s,
back then i was needy to the fact that wood has a need to express,
so before I lose any-one who has been reading this story up till now,
let me say it once again—-’that wood has a need to express it-self ’….

….expressing one’s-self is not the need to have approval of other’s,
as many great works of art have fallen by the way-side with-out note,
just as great in-deed are those hands of artist’s who failed at exposure,
while reaping the various kinds of vulnerability at the hands of other’s….

….there came a time when i heard the sounds of wood living my dream,
far removed from the classic names that are give-in to furniture of design,
how often I have noted that we fail when we fail to create after our heart,
and failure to create after one’s heart is the tragedy of abortive conception….

….wood talks and begs to forth-tell a picture-story of eminence and beauty,
but the ears of man have be-come dull of hearing trading in other’s dreams,
have we lost in-sight that the wood is the artist and we are the art in process,
where i am the imaged one greeting this landscape of art-full wood color…..
—-by flp

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
So lets take a waundering-walk-about such as I took earlier this week and by doing
so, shall we use our imagination to reap forth a bounty of color? I took these while on a hike
going up north, into the north country….and yes, I will stop talking and let the pictures come
forth as actors on the stage of life….

….not all who waunder are lost….

….while getting lost is not the worst act of man….

….since some fail by never getting lost….

….and as I walked, my way be-came very clear in-deed….

….just as the beauty before me laid waste to my mundane….

….no-more be-ing satisfied with playing spectator….

….I be-came one with-in the land-scape….

….and….

….turning for home….

….I followed a new way….

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

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

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

….sitting with some old friends,
and what is this need that shakes my be-ing,
till from the shards of my distant past,
comes the dust storm of ever present wood-chips….

….these friends have sat patiently now,
as the years pass and seasons come and go,
their numbers all-ways on the increase-decrease,
but with patience and expectancy they abide….

….my friends have with-stood the ages of change,
knowing that in these times-these too shall pass,
how often against the back-drop of shadow illusion,
I often feel their soul of wood starting to awake….

….these my friends live on the edge of chaotic desire,
where in-spiration is the off-shoot of maverick imagination,
and I often times be-come in-tangled in their future fate,
having long ago understood the need to hear them speak….

....friends as these have long ago accepted my needs of ego,
and yet they have shown me how to shape for the wood,
all the while giving me space to re-fine an art-full practice,
where wood meets the hands of one born to live a dream….

....up here i am truly in the freedom of silence,
where the winds of change can buffet my soul,
far removed from the busy chatter of noisy man,
and my dreams bear wings to soar with the clouds…..

—-by flp

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

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

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

….your beauty is mine,
eradiating from soul,
I feed in silence….
—-by flp

….and one more today;

….back to my root source,
enticed I am drawn in-ward,
my end is complete….
—-by flp

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

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

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

….caught this one watching,
a treasure from moosehead lake,
wood spirit abides….
—-by flp

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

....and so yes age-less wood has spoken that,
there all-ways is the bigger picture of all that surrounds us,
just as in the works of wood my world be-comes so self centered,
till one day the clouds above my forest are split asunder by knowing,
that all my striving to gain a hold on the reality of my future in time,
was but the failure to note that the wood was working i,
yes and so wood of ages tells a story better then i….
—-by flp

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

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

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