Spirit Outhouse

It is a perfect day for a walk in the countryside and you have packed enough water for your journey. Having just found a path that seems to lead down into the primeval forest a smile slowly emerges from your face. What a glorious day for a quick jaunt. Birds are singing in the trees as chipmunks scurry alongside you. Remembering back to the days when you read always to drink enough water so as not to become dehydrated you drink every often. But oh does the water have an effect on you now.

So you have to go, what shall you do? Miss Manners would no doubt say find a bathroom, however out here in the forest all you see are trees and those silly chipmunks. But wait. Up ahead, at the top of that ridge, is that an outhouse I see? In my now state of emergency it must be. With a mad dash up the 6 steps I climb only to reach the top and find the door with the neatly painted half moon locked.

 No this is not a dream, although it can be one of the tales that you spin when friends ask you about the Spirit Outhouse that is sitting on your bathroom shelf.

Steve began carving Spirit Houses from Cottonwood Bark a little over 4 years ago. The box from Alaska took almost a month to arrive but in the end was well worth the wait.

How he can take this raw piece of light weight bark and create a whimsical place for a good spirit to live (or relieve oneself) as he is carving is beyond my dreams, and yet he can. From small outhouses to a three story multi-rise house Steve has managed to bring a bit of fantasy into reality, complete with windows and even a balcony at times.  Several pieces are still available and can be viewed here in the studio gallery.

#383 Spirit Outhouse

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Oh, on a side note if you would like to read a bit more about Steve and The WoodArt Studio he is featured in this weeks Harrisonburg Farmers Market “Meet Your Vendor” series.

Until next time…Think spirits and Dream Wood.

                                 

Betsy Scenter

Now that spring is in full bloom, along with all of the vibrant colors the flowers bring they share their intoxicating aroma. 

#330 Betsy Scenter

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Well if you like the smell of dried flowers in your home I am sure that you will enjoy holding them in the “Betsy Box Elder Scenter”. She is a beautiful, smooth turned piece of Box Elder with a hand pierced Mahogany lid where the sweet aroma of your dried flowers can escape from. The finial to lift the lid off of is also Box Elder.

But... don’t let us tell you what to do with Betsy once you purchase it from us, let your imagination fuel your desire. What treasures that you hold close to your heart will you place into Betsy? Jewelry, loose change, hard candy? How about the engagement ring that you plan to give that special lady in your life? Ummm?

Until next week… Imagine and Dream Wood.

                                                                                        

                            

The Curlies

Is it Hansel & Gretel who would drop the bread crumbs so they could follow the trail out of the woods? Well if so then Steve must be listening to his Engelbert Humperdinck classical copy of the music because I think it too has inspired him to leave crumbs except his are not bread but are wood curlies.



#370 Ailanthus Bud Vase w/ Pyrography

From the studio door up the stairs to the side porch down the side to the kitchen door all I see sometime are these curlies. But being the wife of the artist I certainly don’t mind. In fact I look forward to seeing them because I know at the end of the trail is another wonderful surprise!

Sometimes its spoons or bowls, this week it was actually a bud vase. If you remember a couple of posts back, we talked about the Ailanthus tree that fell on the property last year. Well just when I thought that there wasn’t any Ailanthus left to turn, I followed the curlies and there it was. This curvaceous bud vase and Steve was just putting the final touches on the pyrography element of the piece. What I found that made it so unique, despite of the wood, is that when you need to refill the inner tube with water, you can just push it up from the bottom of the vase, fill and carefully replace it, ready for fresh buds.

So I am always glad to follow the curlies in my life because the surprise at the end is always worth the walk. Where do the curlies in your life lead you? Hopefully back to The WoodArt Studio. Oh Steve was listening to Gustav Holst’s The Planets when last I visited the studio. Ummmmm? Until next week… Dream wood.

Natural Edge Peace Bowl

Its baseball season and if you are into baseball at all you might remember that bats can be made of Ash. Players like the durability of ash bats because they're light, enabling the player to swing faster and therefore hitting the ball farther. The wood is smooth and players like the feel.

Well Steve was fortunate enough to find this piece of Ash and turned it into this natural edge three footed bowl. Yes the three feet are not glued on afterward but actually are part of the turning process. What makes this 4” high bowl special, in addition to the natural edge from the tree, is the ground Pipestone inlay in the center that fills straight through to the underside of the piece. Pipestone is a prized Native American stone that is often used in their scared peace pipes. It is a beautiful red-clay color and like the Ash in this work it is quite smooth to the touch.

So many of the pieces that come out of the studio are not only useful and pleasing to the eye they need to be caressed in your hands. The smooth touch of this bowl may just offer you the peace that you are searching for while reminding you of the inner strength, like the Ash tree that you possess.

#334 Three footed Ash bowl w/ Pipestone

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If this is what you have been searching for please see us at the market this week or contact us directly. For now… Dream wood.

National Salad Month

Did you know that May is National Salad Month? I didn’t until I started to write this story. Steve and I love salads and try as often as we can to enjoy eating them. The majority of our garden is planted and we have already enjoyed the lettuce and the radishes and look forward to incorporating more of the fresh veggies as the season progresses. We also love to get fresh food from the farmers market when we can. So do you enjoy salads? What kind and what do you put into your salad?

No matter what kind of salad you make it can become a labor of love when you reach for a favorite wooden utensil to stir or toss the ingredients. Steve has several custom-created utensils such as Spoons, pierced and slotted, with straight or arched handles, Salad sets, Icing Blades, Pie Lifters, Olive Scoops, Spurtles and more. The best utensil for the best job. All of these are hand carved from various woods and treated with food safe oil. They are easy to maintain by hand washing (easy for me as I never had a dishwasher) and then a quick towel dry. 



Utensil Assortment

In the picture is a small sample of what we currently have in our inventory with prices starting at $25.00. If you need to feel before you purchase visit us at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market Tuesdays and Saturdays. Too far a drive, email and I will send close up pictures for you. Remember your favorite salad recipe and a WoodArt Studio utensil makes a special gift for the hostess of your next BBQ adventure. Till next week… Dream wood.

Pomp and Circumstance

Composed by Sir Edward Elgar and first performed as a graduation piece at Yale University on 28 June 1905 where Sir Edward received an honorary Doctorate of Music. Ah… music is another connection for Steve and me. We met in a music store where Steve was the instrument technician and I was in sales. Steve had been repairing both band and orchestral instruments for most of his life. Those years of experience fell directly into place when he began to turn and carve wood. Violins, Violas, Cellos and String Basses all need precise service in order to play in tune and too look good as well.

Tiniest Bowl Assortment

Forward several years and here we are in the Shenandoah Valley evoking from the wood, the symphony that it wants to play. Each chunk of wood starts out in the raw such as any elementary school music group and through time will become a philharmonic orchestra set for Carnegie Hall. In the Studio Gallery we show a beautiful Box Elder bowl (#296) with quilting that would compare to that on a fine violin. Smooth to the touch and a most marvelous gift for your graduating student.

We have many other fine gifts for your graduate from the tiniest of bowls to hold paper clips and push-pins to cooking utensils and jewelry. So no matter what school they are leaving and whether it is with an AS or a BS, The WoodArt Studio will have the gift that will honor them for a lifetime. We have added a few more pieces to the Studio Gallery so don’t forget to stop by there for a peak also. Until next week… OR see you at the market.

Just a Touch of Turquoise

Ailanthus, aka the Tree of Heaven, especially down here in Virginia is very appropriate for Steve and me as we often think living in Virginia is a slice of heaven. Just so happened that one spring 2010 day we had one of the Ailanthus in the front of the property come crashing down onto the driveway. Lucky we were not out for our morning walk about. Well nothing else to do except locate the chain saw and get sawing. Several nice chunks were salvaged from that tree that became weed pots and bowls of various sizes and shapes.

One of the pieces that he fashioned is what you see here. It is a free form bowl with a naturally formed fissure through the side of the bowl. Part of this fissure was filled with my favorite semi precious stone, turquoise. If you are unaware turquoise has been a stone that you will often find in Native American jewelry and is a stone of peace and tranquility. Some believe that it will increase wisdom, balance, strength, friendship and love. I find many of these qualities in this piece as I am sure that Steve did while giving it birth.

#289 Free Form Ailanthus Bowl w/ Turquoise

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I know that it is hard to envision the beauty in this piece, especially when I only give you a small taste with one photo, so if your appetite is whet and you want to see more it is currently at the OASIS Art and Craft Gallery in Harrisonburg, VA. Is the valley to far to drive? Email me and I will send you more photos. It would make a truly special wedding gift for your bride and groom or if you are celebrating a 5^th anniversary, wood is traditional and turquoise is the gemstone. Until next week…