{"id":6274,"date":"2020-03-06T08:58:03","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T13:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/?p=6274"},"modified":"2020-03-06T11:34:23","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T16:34:23","slug":"the-woodcarver-and-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/the-woodcarver-and-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"The Woodcarver and Truth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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His signature has long faded from weathering in cherished usefulness. The handle’s slight curve fits my hand perfectly, still smooth to the touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Each morning I retrieve my little pine cutting board, I pause to think about it\u2019s maker, and his inspiring story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was a race car driver. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is in the Canadian motorsports hall of fame, and participated in Formula 1. He was sought by Hollywood and became Steve McQueen\u2019s stunt driver double. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He hung out with Paul Newman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was like a Clint Eastwood character, lean and quietly graceful with salt and pepper hair, clad in denim. When I met met him in the 80\u2019s, a woodcarver, he gave the impression of anything but a person who had once lived the fast life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He was rather reclusive, residing in a remote part of Vancouver Island with his lovely wife, in a log cabin made by his own hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was my landlord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew nothing of his previous career, and I think that pleased him.To me, he was a soft spoken, nature loving spirit, who rented me the wee loft above his studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arriving to collect first rent, he spotted my sketches on the table. That glimpse inspired a host of questions and dialogue about creative process, the life of an artist and what brought him to his chosen career of carving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you always worked with wood? I remember asking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, I once drove cars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cars?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What kind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fast kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was private and reserved, so, respectfully I didn\u2019t inquire about his dramatic change in locale and career. When it did come up in conversation, as he fixed my broken front window one day, the sunlight glinting off his calloused weathered hands, he voice became even quieter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding his way to working with wood full time, a childhood joy, was a life saver, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Hollywood\u201d he said with a sad downturn of his mouth and shake of his head, wasn\u2019t a \u2018real life.\u2019 The people, their parties, and negative energy. He needed to retreat, work with his hands again, be in nature. Be real. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cArt,\u2026 Dawn, \u2026It\u2019s truth.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n