"Felicities Domicile" --by RusticWoodArt

“Felicities Domicile”
....where i to come and have my abode,
could right of mind ask for more then this,
and so i knew before i asked,
who lights the fire that spills from yonder tree?

....and so i wondered far and wide,
over timeless field and endless dell,
many i passed all busy making their own requests,
all blinded by the light that spills from yonder tree!

....so in my passing i dared not tell,
that spirits rule where devils fell,
as all my eleemosynary works compete,
still none could hear the fire that spills from yonder tree.

....now if you come to pass this way of yore,
make no hast of setting your feet on distant shore,
cause in my story a riddle calls out,
“of one who lights the fire that spills from yonder tree—-”

—-joy-full are the singing ones,
who stop to plant a kiss on distant fertile soil,
as many hearing souls can tell of this my bequest,
i am the one who lights the fire that spills from yonder tree…. —-flp

I came across this piece of wood some years ago while cutting back, or might I say doing some radical pruning of some lilac bushes. Actually I was able to get quite a few good lengths and sizes of lilac. I also think that lilac makes for some interesting table legs when used with rustic tables or benches, as it comes complete with twists and turns and full of character. Lilac sands up good, accepts many different kinds of finishes and is also a very stable wood. Easy to work with, I am always on the lookout for more and very often I will cut back bushes of good size lilac for folks so as to get the wood for payment.

I hollowed a lot of this one out by hand using various gouges and spoons and then put in some extended hours of all hand sanding. After debarking I cut the lilac to length using a Japanese saw, these saws offer superb cutting performance while cutting on the pull stroke. Actually I always have one of these saws close by and also find them great for making the cuts when I level out table legs on rustic benches and such.

After debarking, and hollowing out, followed by hand sanding through the grits to #400, I then followed up with #0000 steel wool. The finish is tung oil, followed up with more hand sanding using steel wool again and then I applied Williamsville Teak Oil, followed by a good hand buffing with cotton cloth.

I really like the Williamsville Teak Oil for polishing as it contains no silicons, no detergents, turpentines, or other flammable ingredients. Not classified as a petroleum distillate and non hazardous. This product leaves no sticky build up, drys fast and is pleasant to work with and I can always apply more while just ragging off.

In my way of thinking this piece is a freeform wood sculpture and sets nicely on a library shelf or any type of shelf setting in a study.

Thank you,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

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

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