Wood Curious
Wood
Chewning’s shop is a space to clean up and make a mess again. The shop is right outside their office. Some days they step out of their office and into the shop until it’s time for bed. It’s a small shop with lots of tools so everything has its place. It’s referred to it as a “one tool at a time shop.” All the power tools must be pushed to the side to clear space for the one task that he’s working on. Some of these tools are stacked 3 deep against the wall. The craft requires thoughtful strategy, process, and planning to navigate the tools in the small space to create a small wooden object. There are the stacks of wood saved for the next project-the boards milled from a neighbor’s tree, or from a tree their father cut down, or the board saved from a church pew that came from the church they were married in. It’s a collection of memories. Chewning’s space is a place to forget everything else and create something beautiful from scratch. When the floor is inches deep of sawdust and shaving, it’s swept and vacuumed until the shop is clean. Sometimes there’s a big glue up required and that’s followed by more sawdust and another cleanup. The piece then reveals its true beauty of the wood with grain that pops with color, shape, and texture. The best part of the process to see the wood come alive. Favorite pieces are always an inventory of one.