As if this fell hardwood could get any more beautiful than it’s natural state, Melody coaxes the essence of the tree out of it and back to the wood’s surface with her intricate inlay designs. Sometimes, if the wood has natural scars or inclusions transferred to the vessel, Melody will carefully patch them with glittering stones and gems to enhance the natural beauty. Once her masterful art is complete, it’s nearly ready to be sent to it’s new home and occupation.

Once Kurt has had his fun hunting new wood and paring it down to a workable size, its time to mold it into it’s new shape. Frequently, there will be some treasures embedded in the wood, from car axles, tools, chisel, nails, name tags from University of Utah trees (state arboretum) and a tine from a harvester have all been extracted from the raw wood. Fun objects to uncover, however, finding them when the wood is on the lath, is a dangerous encounter, so Kurt thoroughly inspects each blank before starting to turn.

Awoken from their slumber and sanded down to a smooth finish, it is now time to pass the formed vessel off to Melody for the carving and inlay process. Every piece of wood speaks to Melody and reveals how she will embellish the final work. She studies the pattern of the grain, the gentle feathering, the rays of the wood... Whether she highlights the natural fissures with inlay or creates an intricate pictorial carving – the wood speaks to her. She then selects the gemstones and minerals that will bring her vision to life.

"My name is Christy Deal, and my parents have bought some of your inlay bowls in the past at the Sun Valley Arts Festival. I love your work, its beautiful.”

We hear this often. After too many art festivals to count and decades of carving, we love hearing from folks that have seen and appreciate our work. Unfortunately, we weren’t exactly prepared for the rest of the story.

Kurt works with local arborists to source felled trees from our urban forests, some of which are 100 years old or more. Kurt and Melody believe that these beautiful trees need to be given a second life by rescuing them from landfills, a fate they do not deserve. Kurt gathers the trees and brings them home to their wood shop where the trees guide him to cut the slabs into shapes that will be used for their new purpose – this is where the art begins.