The Spirit within the Wood

Within every block of wood and stone, there dwells a spirit, waiting to be released. Direct carving is a way of freeing the spirit - my own and that of the stone or wood."

Hap Hagwood

"I am so grateful for the life that I have been given to live. Thank you, God. It hasn't all been easy. Some of it, so far, has been quite rough, but it seems that after every rough session there's a new revival of appreciation, a renewed interest in the people and environment around me."

Al Sprague, Artist's Journal, October 2, 1992

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Mother and Child, Woodcarving, 1969

Woodcarving is an art that is mind boggling to me. How can someone see a particular log  can be made into a piece of art? Dad and his best friend, Juan were exploring in the jungle one day and discovered a beautiful log floating in the lake. Dad insisted that he and Juan figure out how to retrieve the log and get it home so he could create his own Madonna and Child.

I can faintly remember the makeshift woodcarving studio he built behind our house on Akee Street. It was underneath the clothes line in our backyard. He constructed a roof that laid on top of the clothesline pillars and poured concrete to form a foundation underneath. It was there under that roof where he carved his own Madonna and Child out of that very log he and Juan dredged out of the lake. That Madonna and Child so happened to be my mother, Barbara and myself.

The carving was completed in 1969 and belonged to my mother up until about 27 years ago when I talked her into gifting it to me. It took some sweet talking, but she gave this almost life-size woodcarving to me. All I had to do was move it from her house to mine. This was not an easy task, nor has it been an easy task with every move since. The woodcarving weighs a ton! Each moving company I have used, comes in thinking they can just wrap their arms around the carving and lift it into the truck. They quickly find out that isn't a possibility and that a dolly is a must when moving this solid piece of wood.

Today this carving, Mother and Child, greets visitors to my home in our foyer. It reminds us all that Dad was so very talented. He never found a medium of art that he could not do successfully. As mentioned earlier, he was gifted a talent by God that allowed him to see and create from the heart. Thank you Dad for giving us so many treasures that allow us to see that God lives through all of us!