The Soul of a Tree

[Howard Rosenberg]

After years of taking out The Soul of a Tree by George Nakashima from the public library, my wife bought it for me! It arrived yesterday eve.

No reason. She just wanted me to have my own copy after years of admiring this man and his approach to his life and his work.

Looks like I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying what promises to be a religious experience....

Howard

[Dimitrios Fradelakis]

Well worth every penny. A fantastic read!

[Jim Becker]

My favorite treasured book! I was fortunately to find a copy a number of years ago...it's hard to come by. You will enjoy reading it. And, BTW, if you ever want to make a field trip south, Mira and Kevin still have the weekly tours at the Nakashima compound in New Hope, Pennsylvania, which is near my home.

[Chris Fournier]

Definitely a book to have in your collection! Glad your wife is so considerate, even better to have!

[Frederick Skelly]

Guys, Ive read the summary you get when you see the book in a catalog or online. I know it's a classic book by a much-respected master. But the description has never compelled me to buy it.

Could someone please describe why this book means so much to you? Maybe Im just missing something important? But I dont want to buy it and just let it sit on my shelf if it doesnt end up interesting me.

Thanks!
Fred

[Mike Henderson]

Guys, I've read the summary you get when you see the book in a catalog or online. I know it's a classic book by a much-respected master. But the description has never compelled me to buy it.

Could someone please describe why this book means so much to you? Maybe I'm just missing something important? But I don't want to buy it and just let it sit on my shelf if it doesn't end up interesting me.

Thanks!
Fred

I fall into the same category. I've never understood the mysticism that surrounds Nakashima. A tree is just a tree. It is not a sentient entity and thus cannot have a soul. I just do not understand what Nakashima is trying to say.

We all look at wood and attempt to use that wood in the most pleasing way in the furniture we build.

Mike

[Mel Fulks]

Agree with all. The ads make it clear it's not an instruction manual. It's like the poem "I Have A Rendesvous With Death"
nice to read with a good drink while wearing your smoking jacket, but not much help on the battlefield.

[Jerry Wright]

Some folks look at a board as just a structural piece. Others see its grain, coloration, chatoyance ....and imagine it's intended best use.
Not everyone can see a unicorn. Nakashima could.

[David Helm]

Just because we are unable to talk to it, doesn't mean that trees aren't sentient. It really means that we aren't as smart as we think we are. I've had Nakashima's book for a long time. There are books about two others who were instrumental in bringing woodworking into the realm of art; Wharton Esherick and Sam Maloof. Highly recommended.

[Frederick Skelly]

Just because we are unable to talk to it, doesn't mean that trees aren't sentient. It really means that we aren't as smart as we think we are. I've had Nakashima's book for a long time. There are books about two others who were instrumental in bringing woodworking into the realm of art; Wharton Esherick and Sam Maloof. Highly recommended.

But what is it you like about the book that makes it so significant to you? That's what Im trying to understand.

[Mark Gibney]

I was talking to someone recently about Nakashima, and his regard for each piece of individual lumber. My buddy said that when he died, Nakashima had 100,000 board feet of lumber at his workshop and another 400,000 board feet of wood stored with various suppliers - the implication being, of course, that this is like have 500 best friends on Facebook.

I have not read the book, and I have not verified that Nakashima had this much lumber on hand. I enjoyed Krenov's book, also not an instruction manual, but as a personal essay about how his life and woodworking grew together. I've been told Krenov was a single minded, difficult person, who tended to puncture the poetic aura created by reading his book. Maybe not a bad thing, when he ran that school.

I do plan on visiting both Nakashima's and Esherick's place in Pennsylvania within the next few years.

[Bill Space]

A tree is just a tree. It is not a sentient entity and thus cannot have a soul. I just do not understand what Nakashima is trying to say. [snip]

Mike

What you are saying is just something you believe. Does not make it true. I don't have a horse in this race but we all should realize there may be more out there than just what we personally believe...

[John T Barker]

Esherick's home is a few miles from where I'm sitting right now and during my visit there I did not see anything earth shattering, IIRC. I think I will take my in-laws in a few weeks and see if I have a different view. I think I was more impressed by the reproductions I saw being made in the shop I was working in at the time.

On a visit to a client's house to deliver one of those reproductions a co-worker and I spotted a Nakashima piece (a slab settee with a fanback) and asked our client if we could examine it. We were allowed and we looked it over and then picked it up to look at the underside. We were both shocked to see that he had not removed the planer marks from the bottom of the slab and left a mess of glue which had run out of the spindle holes. A piece this sloppy would never have left the shop we worked in and we couldn't imagine why he had thought this was acceptable.

[Jim Becker]

But what is it you like about the book that makes it so significant to you? That's what Im trying to understand.

For me, it's made me think a little more carefully about getting the best I can out of the precious material I'm using and respecting the source. It's also helped me to embrace whatever challenge comes with doing the best I can. Even if one's personal style doesn't emulate someone like Nakashima, we can still learn a lot from him. He was a master of finding harmony, both across the material used in a project and relative to the design, including meshing function with aesthetics.

I have similar appreciation for Thos Moser. Very different style than Nakashima, but still very respectful of the material and the form while also making things useful and comfortable.

[Mike Henderson]

What you are saying is just something you believe. Does not make it true. I don't have a horse in this race but we all should realize there may be more out there than just what we personally believe...

Well, there's more than just a "personal belief" in that statement. Trees do not have nervous systems, nor brains, so it's unlikely they could be sentient beings. However, I'm always looking to learn so of you can point to some reputable studies that show that trees are sentient beings I'll certainly take a look. "Reputable" means published in a major peer reviewed science journal.

The point I was making is that all of us woodworkers examine the wood we use and attempt to use it in the most beautiful and useful fashion. You don't need to resort to mysticism to do that.

Mike