Not all pieces of wood agree with an artist on just what they want to be. I find it a great deal easier on my personal karma to let the wood make it's own life changing decisions from time to time. I want the wood to "speak to me". Sometimes though, I make the mistake of not listening and trying to impose my will on wood when I shouldn't. Take this pen for instance.........
This buckeye burl piece is inlaid with turquoise and red coral. It is finished with 20 coats of lacquer, and it has a wonderful "feel" when holding it. It was not however part of my original plan to inlay it at all. This was just to be a nice straight forward burled pen. But this little chunk of tree had some pretty intense ideas of it's own on what kind of pen it wanted to be. When turning the wood for this pen I felt as if I was a grown man who was being scolded by a little girl who just did not want to cooperate with me. And after all, who is the boss here anyway? I mean, I was the woodworker with countless hours of experience. But, every time I made a cut it was as if she was complaining to me. ( Am I the only woodworker whose wood talks to him?). Determined to have my way, and not let a tiny sliver of wood get the best of me, I kept going. I was not in the frame of mind to listen to what the wood was telling me. Then it happened. The wood blank came apart on my lathe, leaving gaps and holes in places I didn't know existed. The little scolding girl had at last gotten her way. She had won. It was her way or none at all, she had thrown a tantrum, and she blew up at me. It was pretty much a disaster. I sheepishly filled the gaps with turquoise and red coral. The girl was now pleased, and the end result is actually what it needed to be. It now had texture, a story, and an eye-catching look. The little scolding girl was right all along. Sometimes it pays to listen to a piece of wood.
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