Wood Artistry
by Thurman Mason
". . Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
COLLABORATION
CREATION
The Glory of Creation : in a simple piece of wood
My art expresses an idea that is very important to me. It is the idea that we are not here as the result of some cosmic accident. I am persuaded that our highly complex human consciousness could have never evolved from nothingness -there are not enough eons in all of eternity to adequately explain the exquisite beauty and order that exists in our universe. It is foolish to hold that order and design could have ever developed from a lifeless primordial soup brought about out of nothingness.
Boxelder (Acer negundo), is a type of Maple tree. The wood is soft compared to the other Maples. Researchers from the University of Minnesota, conducted a series of experiments to investigate the cause of the red, blood like stain in boxelder. They concluded that Boxelder trees produce the blood like stains in response to nonspecific environmental wounds thus giving rise to the frequently used nickname, Jesus wood. It is one of my favorite woods to work with even though it can be challenging due to its soft character.