Another small step completed

This is the start to finishing the inside of the left hand side. In order to keep my own enthusiasm up I need to see new results regularly so I try to work small segments and get them oiled. The end result always encourages me to start on another section. I figure it takes an average 20 hours per spuare foot from start to finish but a lot of that is spread out over 6 years (so far). That's why the end result makes me smile.

Finishing the inside, a section at a time

I took a week off work to see if I could finish the toughest part of the inside and it worked out nicely.

The section I'm referring to is the big round burl on the right hand side

It turned out pretty nice, a lot of character and spectacular colour.

Canucks for Kids Fund

I've always thought in the back of my head that the burl has potential to raise money for charity. The organization that I like is Canucks Place. The reason my attention has been brought to CFKF is because I'm a die hard VancouverCanucks hockey fan. It's incredible what this organization does for terminally ill children and their families. It nearly always brings tears to my eyes and gives me a lump in my throat when I see the joy in the kids eyes when the team visits the hospice.

I will definitely need help to come up with a plan to show the burl at a location and in a setting where people would donate a few dollars to have their photo taken with the burl. It's not quite finished yet but I'm trying to be proactive and come up with a plan. I'm sure it will all come together eventually and until then I'll continue to sand and polish the inside until the day when I just say "That's good, I'm happy with that now."

2011 photos by Warren Lange

Warren Lange came around a few weeks ago with his cameras and took over 100 photos. He gave me a couple dvds and some beautiful blown up photos that we now have framed and hanging on the wall. Thanks again Warren, you're a good guy.

Lifting the burl

I have almost completed the outside of the burl except around the hard places to work, down around the bottom. My Buddy Allan freely offered his help to raise it, so I took him up on it. On July 6th he came over with 4 heavy duty barrel jacks and we lifted it to about three feet. This has made it so much nicer to work on the bottom as well as the inside. I'want to thank Allan for his unconditional help. Awesome!

Giving back to nature

The little maple tree in front of my shovel is a seedling from the original. On August 10th/2010 I planted it in the exact location where its parent (the burl) grew. I found it struggling to grow under a thick juniper. As a result of its struggles, the bottom of the stem is twisted and swollen making me think it may develop the same type of character as its parent.

The inside is coming along nicely now, the color and character is amazing.