"My Scars Are Me"

[Mark J]

This is number 41, and I have decided to call it “My Scars Are Me”. The name deserves a little explanation. I purchased the wood from an estate sale, so I don’t know what it is exactly.  It was labeled Australian burr, but I’m given to understand that Australia is actually host to more than one species of tree.  But it certainly is a burr with lots of bold swirling grain, as well as bark inclusions, knots and other defects large and small.  As I began to work the wood I was at first concerned that the inherent defects would not only result in a frail piece, but would also preclude a silky smooth finish. As I pondered filling them with epoxy, I realized that all these features didn’t just make the wood visually more interesting, they were in fact what made the wood. They were the wood’s substance, what it was composed of. This piece of wood is, just as you, I and everyone are, the sum of its scars.  It is the “slings and arrows” endured that have fundamentally been the niduses of our own creation.  

It measures 4 ½” x 9”. It’s sanded to P600 and there is one coat of Osmo Polyx-Oil satin.

[Coop]

Beautiful wood and a beautiful piece. Your turnings never cease to amaze. And aptly name! 

[JohnG]

Beautiful work!

[Chet]

That is just amazing work.

[wtnhighlander]

That is an incredibly beautiful piece of wood, and work. Aptly named, indeed.

[pkinneb]

Beautiful!!

 

[Chestnut]

This is awesome excellent work. I really like the name it's fitting.

[Knuckles like bark]

On 9/26/2021 at 5:27 PM, Mark J said:

This is number 41, and I have decided to call it “My Scars Are Me”. The name deserves a little explanation. I purchased the wood from an estate sale, so I don’t know what it is exactly.  It was labeled Australian burr, but I’m given to understand that Australia is actually host to more than one species of tree.  But it certainly is a burr with lots of bold swirling grain, as well as bark inclusions, knots and other defects large and small.  As I began to work the wood I was at first concerned that the inherent defects would not only result in a frail piece, but would also preclude a silky smooth finish. As I pondered filling them with epoxy, I realized that all these features didn’t just make the wood visually more interesting, they were in fact what made the wood. They were the wood’s substance, what it was composed of. This piece of wood is, just as you, I and everyone are, the sum of its scars.  It is the “slings and arrows” endured that have fundamentally been the niduses of our own creation.  

It measures 4 ½” x 9”. It’s sanded to P600 and there is one coat of Osmo Polyx-Oil satin.

Well put! Beautiful piece! And only very jealous.

[Dave H]

Fantastic object I will be awake tonight imagining how it was made. You are an artist for sure.