If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.

- George Washington

Saturday 26 January 2013

Testimony of the Tree

Not many people know this, but several years ago I trained as a cabinetmaker.  I went self-employed as a furniture maker and restorer for a year or two, but there was no money in it, and I returned to gainful employment elsewhere.  Anyway, I was giving a colleague some advice on a DIY solution for cleaning old furniture (the exact composition of which escapes me for the time being - a lot of use I was there) and I was reminded of a quotation that my tutor printed out and displayed in the workshop.  He reckoned it was essential reading for anyone involved in working with wood.  Sure enough, Google came to the rescue and I found the full version.  I could only remember the last two lines.

Anyway, I thought it was worth sharing.
The Testimony of the Tree

For a hundred years I breathe and live, the flower of beauty and the bread of kindness.

I am your friendly shade in the noonday heat of summer, and I stand pencilled against the winter twilight, a silhouette for dreams. At dawning in the spring I am filled with song, the host to a thousand birds, and I decorate the autumn with pageantry and colour.

Then comes the woodsman with his axe.

And still I serve.

I am the timber that builds your boat; the rafters of your cathedrals; the choirstalls of your church enriched by the magic of the carver's fingers. I am the beam that holds your house; the door of your homestead, and the lintel too. I am the handle of your hoe; the wood of your cradle; the bed on which you lie; the board of your table and the board for your bread.

When I am living, harm me not.

When I am dead, respect me and use me kindly.

 

11 comments:

  1. What a thoughtful piece. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. I remember reading that a while ago. Do you know who the author is? In these Ikea days appreciation for nice, handmade furniture is diminishing. Have you posted some photos of your work?

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    1. All I could find on the web was 'Anon', sorry. The problem I had was that the people I wanted to sell to either bought furniture from MFI, or had inherited it from The Family. There was very little middle ground of people who wanted, and could afford, hand-made stuff. I got out when I realised that I was funding the business, not the other way round. It was before I had a digital camera, so all the photos of my work are in an album. I'll get round to digitising them one day. Thanks for asking, though. I was pretty pleased with some of the stuff I did.

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  3. It's a shame, because well-build wooden furniture holds up better (and looks better) than anything from MFI or Furniture World...

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    1. And if you damage it or it gets worn, you can repair and/or refinish it, and get another 50 years out of it. When a piece from MFI (etc) goes wonky, it's dead.

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  4. Very nice. I hadn't seen that before.

    There is something majestic about the trees when alive and something so graceful about handmade wood furniture or anything hand tooled out of wood really.

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    1. It's wonderful stuff to work with, too. If you understand it and have the skill, it almost speaks to you.

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  5. No mention of the coffin in which we will come to lie....no danger of MFI there!

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    1. Good point. Dust we are, and to 'ash' we will return. Actually, I am going to specify cardboard. Why waste decent chipboard on a stiff?

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  6. I recommend UK made a woven willow coffin - caused something of a reserved wow at my mum's funeral - and it's jobs in Somerset!

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