"Writer's Block" --by RusticWoodArt

Writer’s Block

....and so i must ask,
are you,
have you,
ever had a blockage in forming words for task….

—-then if so may i give a bit of advice,
just let your fingers go and shapely chisel out a word,
till in the shaping of a sculptured behaving word splice,
you become the sharply shaped figure who is much preferred….

—-just as in finding this one piece maple at site of a wood pile,
i knew in a flash there was some-thing here to behold,
so while my ears heard the voice of maple singing worthwhile,
this one started out by being a pounding block of old….

—-those legs of oak absorbed the shock from pounding an-other,
as weeks became years i distressed your upper top,
and all the while you gave birth as an expectant mother,
till came the day when i heard your voice cry out and say to stop….

And that was then as this is now, you are most beauti-full my ‘Lady of Wood’....a true ‘writer’s block’ you have become!

I found this one at my winter wood pile many years ago and reaching down to place the maple on my splitting block, I saw what I thought was to become and end as a pounding block for other works of ‘wood art’. Just goes to show you, how we can at first glance be so badly mistaken by the appearance of what is before us.

Wood has taught me much and I speak no lie when I say that much of the “all that I’ve learned, I’ve learned from wood”. And so this one spoke one day within my shop and I stopped to see what was written within where I had been to busy to look before. What I saw was a beauti-full piece of art-full furniture that had more to give then all the other’s that had so passed their time of shaping upon her blocked top.

Though the years passed in silence of work, I would all-ways be drawn back to work on this piece some more, still knowing that one day yet she would be complete.

This piece of maple has been hand sanded from #80-#400 grit several times over and then each time with #0000 steel wool along with her oak legs. I say many times since I originally started with boiled linseed oil and not liking the effect I let that finish cure and dry. So I started sanding and sanding again….yes, there finally came the day when I started this time applying tung oil, or shall I say many coats of tung oil. Then I started hand sanding all over and over again with more tung oil. Finished up with wet sanding by using steel wool and tung oil, then allowing to cure and dry some more. Every so often now I will steel wool some more and apply additional coats of teak oil and then I will follow up by buffing with a rag. The sheen on this piece is quite nice and full of the woods golden inner glow of rustic character….

Many of you may have seen this one sometime ago on one of my blog stories, but I am now in the process of marketing this piece so I have had to do some better photo updates for the piece and decided to also post here in the projects section.

And yes, the vine that surrounds the legs of this lady, is called bittersweet. I stripped the bark off the vine and finished the bittersweet vine in shellac.

....and….

....and….

I will also add that the name of “Writer’s Block” is a play on words, as I just love word playing. This piece of ‘wood art’ is in the true sense a table for sitting and writing at….therefore writer’s block. However, how often when we sit down to write a story or letter, does the one doing the writing experience a ‘writer’s block’?

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
www.frank.wordpress.com

-- --frank, NH, http://frank.wordpress.com/