"The Soul of a Tree"

"I want to preserve the soul of the tree... I start with a hydraulic chainsaw and a spontaneous creative spirit, and much like jazz improvisation, the cut evolves." - Brad Sells

Brad Sells is an artist who's media is wood. So, here's how the story goes...

My friend William and his dad commissioned Brad to do a piece for them. They bought a house in Sylvan Park area in Nashville Tennessee many years ago in 1966. This tree is one they planted in their back yard when they first moved in.

It grew strong through the years but towards it's end, it became diseased and had to come down.

The base of the tree went to Brad for him to start the process of the piece.

From his website..."Each sculpture or vessel begins as a carefully selected hardwood bole, which I shape into flowing, organic forms with hydraulic chainsaws. Through the arduous use of a variety of customized grinders, the vessel is gradually reduced and thinned to a consistent wall thickness, refined by exhaustive sanding, and hand rubbed to a lustrous, almost translucent finish."

Here is the piece of art that came from William and his dad's tree in that back yard in Sylan Park... all for a love of a tree.

"In carving I strive to embrace each tree's response to its surrounding environment. I think of the evolving form of each vessel as if it were the tree's high lonesome song in 3D, with me harmonizing with Mother Nature. My work is an attempt to show the surviving spirit of one of Earth's greatest living organisms… Life forms flux in the passing of time."

All of Brad's pieces are just incredibly beautiful and different. Please visit Brad's website at:
http://www.bradsells.com/

Thank you William for the pictures!