rocks, artifacts and showcase

This afternoon I went to the Kings River to gather small rocks to use in the Crystal Bridges bench. You stand on the shore of this beautiful free flowing stream in the Arkansas Ozarks and look down. There are billions of rocks to choose from. Yes, they are only rocks, but once the rock is selected, picked up and gathered for use, it is an artifact. It records intangible things inside the mind, the eye and hand. It tells the story of millions of years of earth's history, but also describes relationship with the individual craftsman (in this case me) as I put it to use in telling a story of our culture and our time on this earth.

Last year at this time I was preparing for the Woodworker's Showcase, and the photo below shows Chris Schwarz, Wayne Barton, Peter Korn and myself in examination of the relative merits of wonderful work.