As for what steps you should take before you start your work on crafting the driftwood, there are multiple different methods that include boiling, heating and chemically disinfecting. These of course take place after you have doen your visual inspection and wiped off stuff like sand, dirt and debris. All of the cleaning procedures have their downside in my opinion, boiling can negatively impact the wood itself (remember that old commercial- water on wood ah ah no good), heating can actually lead to burning, and chemical is well chemically and not an organic process. Plus, boiling and chemically treating require that you place the driftwood into a container, and this is impractical with bigger pieces.

Still, it needs to be done in order to eliminate molds, parasites and fungi that may or may not be visible. I will leave the choice to you to determine which of them is the best of the bunch.

Now, let me be clear, many a man may talk negatively about his partner, but I truly respect the fact that my wife is honest when I show her my work. It has put me on the right track numerous times, and for that she deserves praise, not mocking. While I started out trying to be humorous, I am one lucky duck. So, let me take this time to say loud and clear right here and right now – Honey you’re the best, don’t ever change.

The thing is though, I kind of wish you would buy a few store bought presents, because I am becoming really attached to some of those driftwood platters, but my interest in making more is non existent at the moment, and I do not see that changing in the near future.

What will I ever make next year to surpass this year’s gifts, I was not anticipating such a response? I guess a lot of pressure does come with success- ha ha. Oh, good grief….

The question of whether or not to try and replicate the former wreath never crossed my mind, as I see this as a clear opportunity to create something fresh. In addition, I have asked my kids to think about what they would like to see added on to the wood base, as I think it is a nice family project. Well, I believe it could be at least; the verdict will stay out on that until I hear back from them.

Secretly, I am hopeful that they will bring forth other natural items to embellish the basic wreath. And if they do not arrive at this conclusion on their own, my second line of hope comes in that they will receive some guidance from my wife prior to bringing me anything completely off kilter. But, if they do, I recognise I opened the door and invited their participation, so what they decide goes. Though, I have to admit that I have been shamelessly dropping hints to my eldest.

This left me feeling a little left out, which I truly do not like when it comes to driftwood projects, and this prompted me to investigate a bit, as my curiosity took over as I relied upon my imagination to form images of what could be. Initially, while viewing samples of driftwood pipes I was most drawn to the non-traditional shapes that some were made out of. We all have a vision in our minds eye of what a pipe is supposed to look like, and these were far from the one I was harbouring. Then I was smitten by some of the discolorations of the wood used and their fun loving names, and then some of the variations made naturally by worm holes, and leftover outshoots of a small branch or two held my attention. A neat endeavour indeed, and I am glad to have been able to lead one driftwood craftsman to another for guidance and information.

I hesitate to admit it, but I have come across enough of these for sale to believe they are quite in style. If I were creating for my own pleasure, I would never make anything simply because it was considered stylish by the general public, or those allegedly in the know as it were. But, as I want to see smiles when these presents are unwrapped, I am staying on the straight and narrow.

I have also been drafting the cards to go with them, and have come up with the following. This piece was first shaped naturally by the elements, and secondly carved by my hands. In that sense, please accept this gift from both Mother Nature and myself.

I’m off to get started, as I have ten in total to have done in time to ship. The rest I can procrastinate a bit on, as they will be hand delivered. I do not like to feel like a mass producing machine, so I look forward to breaking the work up.

While I personally am captivated by his seahorse chairs and benches, mainly because the seahorse is my favourite sea creature, he is quite possibly best known for his award winning sculpture titled A Matter of Time. It is a wood sculpture that is thirteen feet in diameter, and a depiction of man’s position in nature. I find myself lacking the words to describe his talent, but can at the very least prompt you to learn more about this artist if you would like to see what can be done with this medium.

I find him to be an inspiration, and can only aspire to craft with such emotion and spirit. Check his work out, I know you will be glad you did.

I am finding it absolutely hysterical now, in retrospect, how it took years for me to get of my tuckas and acquire new the new space. I actually feel like I will be able to tap into some artistic abilities that I was unable to before because I have the room to be bold, and even make mistakes.

The reason I am writing this down so that in the future, probably in another year or two, if my renewed inspiration for driftwood projects lasts, I will have to consider where to go from here. Whether I build a cabin, rent a loft, or pursue other venues will depend on how things go, but I can say for certainty, if the way I feel today is any indication of my motivation, then the sky’s the limit next go round. But, by putting this in writing I will have more to refer to regarding this topic then a faded memory of it.

It has come to the point where I am faced with making a decision. Either I cut back on my craftwork, or I purchase something to house my pieces inside. This has been a longtime coming, and in reality I have gotten by for longer than many would have expected. This is where I should probably take a moment to mention how my spouse is an extremely understanding person, and without her patience and understanding I could never have gotten this far with my pursuits…. Thanks L.

Anyway, I must admit I have been dodging this for way too long, and the time to make a change is here. I only hope it can be done in a manner that I find harmonious with the surrounding environment, and one that is inviting so I will want to enter the structure to get creative, or store my beloved designs. Wish me luck, today is the day I take the plunge.

During the first few years the number of participants remained pretty much the same. Nobody had any complaints about this, and I am quite certain that had a few of the group had their way nobody else would have ever been admitted to the club. And in some ways this was for good reason.

By keeping the number small there was a chance for each person to interact on a meaningful level with every other person at the event. A real camaraderie evolved that can be truly difficult to come by in adulthood. Really I believe every one of us felt as though we had known each other our whole lives, and with this special situation the idea of messing it up by letting strangers in seemed too great a risk to some.

On the other hand, folks like me recognised that by bringing in newcomers we might tap into some fresh ideas, learn that there was more to be explored, and just possibly make some additional good friends at the same time. Sure, we debated these points back and forth for a bit longer than I would have cared to, but ultimately the die were cast in my favour.

Three years ago we reopened membership, held our cumulative breaths and waited. Prior to that year’s barbecue we had a whopping eighteen new members join. And at our regular meetings things seemed to be going amazingly well. But, at the time when we started to prepare for the barbecue the older members, and myself included crossed our fingers that things would feel like the old times.

I am extremely happy to report that all went very smooth that year, and I have never heard a complaint from any of the original members about having taken the step to enlarge the club. Turns out the only issue we encountered was that we had to find a bigger space for all of our meetings, and more patio furniture for the barbeque. Neither proved to be troublesome as one new member gained us access to an elementary school cafeteria for the meetings, and another donated the money for us to acquire the furniture. So, I would like to just say thank you to all the early members for being brave, and to all the newer members for being great.

And this brings me to the gist of this blog, you see in some of those spare moments at work where my mind wanders I have taken to hoping that I will come across someone looking to employ a driftwood designer. Sure, it is kind of far fetched, but it could happen I suppose. I could do a search for jobs, and find that a new café is being set up, and they want it to have a beach theme. And sure enough, that calls for driftwood galore. Or maybe, just maybe, a new hotel is being launched and the owners want all of the lobby furniture to be made of driftwood.

I guess the whole point of a daydream is to aspire for something to happen that is rather unlikely. And the reality of it is, as long as I continue to hope and dream anything remains possible. The trick is to stay focused on making a go of it, and to make time to participate in the things you love to do most no matter if there is a big financial pay off, or just an enjoyable afternoon filled with driftwood.