Tree Hugger
Yes, I’m a tree hugger. I remember a tree that I loved when I was 5. It was just on the edge of the woods and had a large, low limb, so my parents allowed me to climb into it by myself. A tent caterpillar nest in the tree was right at my eye level when I was sitting in the tree. I delighted in watching their acrobatics in the nest. It was like my very own circus.
My grandparents lived in a little cabin in the South Carolina mountains. In the spring, we’d walk in the woods, and grandmother would teach me about wildflowers. On summer afternoons, we’d swim in the lake and look up at the thick, towering hemlock trees.
Not much has changed and yet so much has. I still love watching wildlife and learning about plants, but now I do it with my children instead of my grandmother. Those hemlock trees, and many, many others are gone- killed by an invasive insect infestation. Rising temperatures and human activities continue to threaten native flora and fauna.
Maker
When I wasn’t walking in the woods, I was often making things. Dollhouses with my mom. Paintings with my dad and grandmother. I had a store in my closet when I was 10 where I’d try to sell things I had drawn. Unfortunately, the inside of my closet wasn’t an ideal location–it didn’t get a lot of foot traffic.
I focused on painting native flora and fauna until I fell in love with woodworking. I had always wanted to make my own wooden spoon, and the kids were making magic wands and walking sticks, so I pulled out my pocket knife and got started. Thankfully, rhododendron is a fairly strong and forgiving wood. I still use that spoon for scooping spices.
I’ve gone from carving spoons with what was available to having a full workshop and making a wide variety of wooden items for your home and for play.
Environmentalist
Despite the many changes, my focus has been on appreciation of and respect for the environment. The threats to our natural environment compels me to use sustainable materials in my work. I primarily use native wood that has been locally and sustainably harvested. When I use non-native woods, I use off cuts (pieces that are too small for most wood workers to use) or there is a very strong reason. For example, I use birch plywood to make some of my jigsaw puzzles because it is stronger and more stable than solid wood, which allows me to cut more intricate pieces.
Furthermore, my preferred finish is pure tung oil that does not contain any added chemical driers. It is one of a few oils that will polymerize and form a hard coat so you don’t need to reapply a finish or wood butter.
The choice of materials (knowing exactly where the wood came from) and natural finish (that highlights the grain and texture) help the user to connect to and appreciate the natural environment. When I use a rhododendron spoon to cook dinner, I think about walking in our rhododendron patch, looking for the perfect branch as well as walking in the woods with my grandmother, looking at the trillium and lady slippers around her rhododendron patch.
Contact me at chestnutandhemlock@yahoo.com
You can purchase my work through this site or from any of the other businesses below. Feel free to contact me for custom requests.
- Kentuck Art Center
- Red Bubble (designs as C and H Designs)
- Tee Public (designs as C and H designs)
- Etsy
- Main and Maxwell
You can follow my work on: