Perfectly Imperfect

In the last couple of weeks I have been working with spalted maple and woodwormed walnut. They are so beautiful and so perfectly imperfect. Working with these woods has really made me reflective. I tend to be very self critical, and "imperfections" in my work fill me with anxiety.

 The wood I use in my work is salvaged or reclaimed, and that is incredibly important to me. That means before the wood comes to me it's been around the block, it's had a full life. It was a fallen tree, or maybe ripped out of a house. It has likely been around for 100 years, been exposed to ALL the elements and this is it's last chance at a (new) life. It's important to me that each piece is different and hopefully you can see a little bit of it's past.

So isn't it silly for me to get down on myself it my boards look a little (gasp) made by hand?! In fact like these perfectly imperfect pieces of spalted maple and woodwormed walnut the "imperfections" in my work are really part of it's beauty.

I guarantee my work will never be "perfect" no two pieces will ever be the same. I make each piece by hand. I fall in love with each piece. I get inspired by the wood.
I'm love learning (or remembering) the things that make us different, or imperfect, are so special and so beautiful.