Bumps and Bruises

If you have experienced my woodworking you know I do things quite differently than what is considered normal by many standards.  I tend to use extremely dissimilar woods in the same project.  An example would be the armoire I built for Sara out of tiger maple and medium stained cherry.  Right next to each other, I used a very white wood, and a very deep red wood.  Another example is the Settle I finished earlier this year out of white maple and walnut. Again, I incorporated a very light/white wood next to a dark wood.

The other thing which shows up in my woodworking is that I have a tendency to use woods the industry either considers substandard, or at least did at one time.  I love the look of my shop cabinets which are made of pine and knotty alder. The tiger maple in the armoire is a second example of the same idea.  The character of these woods shows imperfections which is what I consider the beauty of the wood. 

When I was still in the lumber business, we were forever running into customers who wanted “perfect” lumber.  No blemishes, no imperfections, no color variations.  Boring.  Nope, not enough emphasis - BORING.  Trees, like people, grow over tens of years, some over hundreds of years, and when you look at the lumber that comes out of them: every variation in grain and every mark has something to do with the environment at a time in the tree’s life.  But again, just like people, beauty comes from the differences, not the sameness.

My grandfather was very important in my life.  My father died when I was very young and grandpa stepped in to do all he could to make sure I grew up as the right kind of person.  He was a laborer, not a professional, but he was very wise about the world and how to actually get things done.  I learned an unbelievable amount from him.  As a child, I remember looking at his weather-worn skin and knowing there was a story in every wrinkle. The life he lived played out on his face and in his hands.

Now I have come to the point where there are several years behind me and the person looking out of the mirror at me in the morning is much older than I think he should be. I look at myself, and my hands, and all of the bumps and scars, and I know that they all tell a story.  Whether it is about stitches earned building a deck on a house in Des Moines, or discoloration from too many summers as a lifeguard with the belief that the sun may be hard on others, but not me, it all tells a story. We all have stories which are told by our bumps and bruises, scars and imperfections.

In a time when it seems like so many are looking for homogeneity - or beauty without flaw; I to honor the scars and bruises.  They are part of how we got to where we are today, and are part of the beauty which defines each of us.  Whether in woodworking, or in life, I recognize the imperfections as beauty marks, signs of how things came to be.

Look around you for the imperfections that came from bumps and bruises; the scars which come from a life well lived.  Look and see beauty in each of them.