A couple of years ago, the Emerald Ash Borer came through and killed a number of our trees, and I needed to buy a chainsaw to deal with the situation. Here I am with fresh safety gear, ready to tackle the first of many downed trees! This was about a year before the carving bug bit me.
After seeing a YouTube video in March ’22, I tried carving a bear out of a rotten maple limb. After that, all I wanted to do was try more and improve my skills. I wish I had discovered this earlier in life!
So why carving, and why now?
It’s frustrating because I don’t have an answer. When asked I’ll fumble around thinking about it, and it’s not enough to say, “the Emerald Ash Borer made me do it”. With 35 years of Information Technology work behind me, I’ve come to see that all those accomplishments, impossible feats, and creative flourishes, no longer exist for the most part. They’ve been lost to time, obsolescence, and the “digital ether” — almost like they never happened. I wanted to start pouring my creative energy into things that last.
The pandemic also taught me that I badly needed a hobby, and while I’ve always thought of myself as “creative”, I had never fallen in love with any particular medium. I’ve enjoyed drawing all my life, but all I could do was envy those who could totally lose themselves in their pursuits.