My friend Paul

My friend Paul Harvel died yesterday. He was a major advocate for my adopted home state, Arkansas, and his life can serve as a model for the positive effects we can have on each other. I first met Paul when I was selling my work at the Arkansas Craft Guild's Christmas Showcase. He was director of the Little Rock Area Chamber of Commerce and bought some of my boxes to give his staff. He did the same the next year, the year after and for years after that.

His wife Barbara called one day as she was looking for someone to design the Governor's Award for Quality. As she asked about my work I mentioned that I made small inlaid boxes, at which point she picked up a box from her desk that Paul had given her, and noted my signature underneath. That led to my making the Governor's Award for Quality for the next twenty years.

When Paul was involved in building the new Chamber of Commerce offices in downtown Little Rock, he asked me to design and build the furniture for his office. That furniture was recently a gift from Paul and Barbara to the collection of the Museum of Eureka Springs Art. https://www.facebook.com/museumofeurekaspringsart/

My point in mentioning Paul, is to point out that an artisan's work is dependent on the support of his community. Paul's particular art was to encourage others, and my own work and development as a craftsman holds me in Paul's debt. If others have been encouraged by my work, they are also at least a bit in Paul's debt.

An illusion that we humans suffer from is that we are separate from each other, and that we come and go from this life. Perhaps a clearer view would be to witness the interconnections between us, noting the fabric of life. In simple terms, Paul is gone, and Paul is not gone,

My love to Barbara, to the state of Arkansas and all the small towns that benefitted from  Paul's attentions as he promoted their growth.

Make, fix and create... Assist others in living likewise.