Scar

Process: Turned on lathe (hollow form), then broke at rim. Cut into the break rather than repairing. Subtractive response to damage.
Intentionality: The hollow form was intentional; the scar was an improvised response to breakage that became the defining feature
Visual Readings: Lightning bolt, shark’s tooth
Color Detail: Red interior is natural box elder "flame" — the tree’s response to rot, fungal infection, and insect damage. Pink and gray spalting on exterior. The color is literally damage made visible.
Type: hollow form
Date Created: Winter 2024-2025
Ownership: Gifted to a friend. Difficult to part with.
Finish: Walnut oil, shellac, buffed with carnauba wax
Origin Story: Box elder salvaged from a family member’s home — a tree coming down, cut with a chainsaw after it fell. While turning on the lathe, the piece broke at the rim due to rot. Instead of reshaping or abandoning it, leaned into the break and cut into it — the scar is literal. The name came from the event.
Material Source: Salvaged from a family member’s downed box elder tree, cut with chainsaw on site
Dimensions: ~8 x 6 inches
Status: Complete. No longer in artist’s possession — owned by a friend.

Materials

box elder Pink and gray spalting, natural coloring. Red interior called "flame" — the tree’s biological response to rot, fungal infection, and insect damage. Salvaged/reclaimed wood. wood salvaged

void Hollow interior space, opening into the form what opens when you stop filling yourself, revelation, emergence
natural edge Preserved original boundary of material—bark, natural rim, organic irregularity history honored, damage as identity, the pre-intentional
open form Form that unfurls, receives, makes space for what isn't there yet receptivity, offering, space for connection

damage-as-material 2026-03-10T16:56:05.979Z The damage was the material all along. Not damage overcome, not damage redeemed, not beautiful-despite-broken. The rot is the color. The void is the form. The chainsaw scar is the first mark in a collaboration the chainsaw did not know it was starting. Damage is not precondition; damage is content.
reclamation The quality of returning to yourself after being lost or taken.
reclamation-theology Beautiful and broken. Discarded and reclaimed. The written-off, the salvage pile. Refuse the verdict. Restoration begins with belief. The wood was waiting for someone stupid enough to find it.
beautiful-and-broken Your hallmark. Your inner view of yourself. The flaw is the feature. Rot becomes color. Damage becomes emphasis. The work is about you. It always has been. Beautiful and broken. Discarded and reclaimed.