The greatest part of artistic creation is the journey we take to its inevitable fruition and for me woodburning has been such a wonderful side quest to meander down. Every artist, no matter your muse, knows that place where art stems from. Where you're not thinking of ideas but instead you're just having them. Its a place you can't think your way into and one you dont even know you've left until you catch yourself thinking too hard. Its the well inside us that creativity flows to if we just are patient enough to pull up the bucket without thinking to hard about it. Its when logic must take his seat begrudgingly, and allow creativity to steal the show. Oh, how I love that place. Hours tick by faster than they should and before I know it my fingers ache and the room is tinged with a hint of woodsmoke and for no reason at all, and for every reason in-between, life just seems a little bit better than it did before I clicked on the soldering iron .
I have always loved nature but trees have always spoken to a place deep inside me. They do not worry nor boast and yet everyone of us has stood before one awestruck and speechless. Their presence is undeniable and yet they never speak a single word. Oh, the lessons they teach without ever uttering a sound. They are our shady spots on a sunny days, alchemists of oxygen, tire swing holders and the walls all around us. And even after their roots give out they find a way to live on through the hands of artists just like me and you. There is something almost poetic about creating an art form by burning wood. Fire, throughout the ages, has turned the most steadfast tree to nothing but ash in the wind and yet when used to scar its surface, it not only creates masterpieces, it hardens it. The same thing that has the power to destroy you can also transform you into a breathtaking piece of art. Even when your roots give way and you think its too late, even after you've been cut down into slabs and pieces. You can still be more than you ever thought imaginable in the eyes of an artist. Be that artist.