If you remember from my earlier post in
2009, you will remember this hearth made out of river stone and cement. I have been looking at this unfinished project for nearly two years. The thought that kept coming to mind was that I wanted one piece of wood that spanned almost seven feet, with a width of almost three ft. Where in the world would I find a piece like this. I mentioned it to Shanon, he suggested we simply glue 2X4's together. However, I wanted a piece of wood that wrapped around the front of rock so that it appeared to hold the hearth. I was thinking I could carve the inside of a tree out, one chip at a time to get the affect I was looking for.
After about eight months of visualizing what I intuitively felt it should look like, we went on a walk in the wetlands 3 miles from our home. Earlier last summer a large fire took many of the cottonwood trees in the area. I found some downed trees that I thought would be perfect for this project. The inside of the trees had been burnt but the trunk of the trees were still thick. Shanon had his doubts but the high I felt, and the shaking my body was doing told me that this was the find that I had been seeing in my mind.
We had to ask the nature conservancy if it would be okay for us to take one of the downed trees, and the rep wouldnt be there until after Thanksgiving so we would have to wait. On our way back to the truck we saw a large burn pile that had already been cut down and was awaiting a controlled burn. In that pile we pulled out three large slices of a tree. When we stacked them one on top of the other, I knew it was the perfect size. Even with all the work that needed to be done. I knew it would be beautiful.
We blasted it with water at the car wash to get most of the burn off, then took out one grinder grinding off the sharp points on top. I don't know if anyone out there has ever tried working, chopping, or burning cottonwood, but I am here to say that it is some tough would. Rarely splitting, and hardly burning. In fact, the wood is so tough that the grinder I was using almost started on fire. It probably would have had I not stopped when it started smoking and burning my hand.
Although we made the mistake of not taking pictures of the earliest find, here it is in one of the earlier moments after a few hours of work;
Shanon and Bailey putting on Tung oil
Notice how the front of the bench wraps around so perfectly to cover the top of the hearth. Every time I look at this it makes me realize how perfect the world works. I could not have created this experience if left to my own devices. This piece wanted to be in our home and somehow found it's way both into not only our home, but also into my thoughts through powers beyond my comprehension.
