Heartwood (2013)

Wood and Pewter, 5 1/2" x 20" x 3 1/5"

If you look at a cross section of a tree and follow its growth outward from the heartwood to the bark, you have a record of that tree’s entire life. You can see which years were the lean years—with less water or sun—which years the tree thrived, how long it lived.

I like this as a metaphor for life: good times, hard times, beauty, imperfection.

In celebration of a dear friend’s 50th birthday, and to mark what I believe is a watershed time in her life, I took a section from a downed old growth Ponderosa pine and inlaid the 50-year growth ring with pewter. Click here to see photos of the piece in process and to read the story of how it came to be.