Carving By:

Gary James (Black Bear)

Firewalk

by: Gary James (Black Bear)

Created: Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Firewalk is fashioned from the following:

Slate, Perduke wood, Coal, Fired rock, Sand,
Lightning struck lemon wood (Florida), Copper
Lightning struck female black walnut (Apps Mill, Brantford ONTARIO CANADA),
Hickory wood, Ebony, Lawyers cain, Vegetable ivory (tauga nut),
Various paints stains and tongue oil

The Story of “Firewalk”

Firewalk was born in understanding of the Feminine spirit of regeneration in the harshest of conditions in the sacred hoop of life. It is a human reflection of the nature of Mother Earth and the mind of man.

There were two beautiful straight and tall walnut trees standing side by side on a road amid wild flowers and a canopy of other hardwoods and white cedar. A storm had spoken to the female walnut tree with its voice of lightning and left its story emblazoned on one of her upper limbs.
The tree continued to grow and was healthy. Acting out of fear with vision of seeing the tree dropping its branch on a passing car a caretaker thought it best to cut the tree to firewood leaving its mate to stand alone.

I approached the man as he cleaned up the mess of small limbs and leaves and explained to him that I was a sculptor. In the car I had a finished piece of work and showed it to him. He was taken with it and asked me what had inspired me to sculpt it.

I explained, "The same sort of inspiration radiates now from the fallen one and her mate that now stands alone. I asked him if I may have a piece of wood to carve the story of the tree. He looked down to the cut pieces, then upward to her living mate, standing alone.. "Take all the wood to carve", he said with lowered head. "Let me see it when you are done?" Sure I replied ... but I never saw that man again.