Soul of a Tree

I'm reading a book at the moment called, "Soul of a Tree" by George Nakashima and it got me thinking about the nature of wood--why I love working with it over manufactured products--fact is that no one will ever write a book "Soul of a Sheet of 3/4" MDF" or "Soul of Polymer Resin"--every piece of wood has at one time been a part of some great living thing--namely, a tree--and every piece of wood is distinct with its individual grain, flow, coloring, texture, density--there's no soul in MDF--no life in polymer resin--

I was milling up a piece of walnut today and the depth in its grain seemed infinite--layer upon layer of its life--the passage of time represented in its unique patterns and their movements--wood evokes an emotional response--a feeling of warmth that only something living is capable of--I believe it is also a connection to nature and to something inside all of us that is familiar and comfortable--even when I am using manufactured products I always try to pair and balance them with wood detailing--though I lean towards modernism I try to always be aware of the necessity of soul and to respect that as best I can

The picture above is a slab of maple from Andy's Wood Barn in Abbostford, British Columbia