Logging Roots to Reclaimed Beauty: A Personal Journey with Wood
Some stories start in the roots of our past — in the hands that cut timber and the hearts that learned to see beauty in what was once labor. This one begins with my father, a lifetime of wood, and a piece of history reclaimed in the Blue Ridge.
I grew up surrounded by trees — and not just the kind that sway quietly in the wind.
My father cut timber for a living. He was good at it, and in those days, that work wasn’t questioned — it was needed.
Back then, landowners weren’t thinking about sustainability or conservation. They wanted the trees cleared, and my dad knew how to do it. That work put food on our table and kept our family going. And as a kid, I only saw the pride in my father’s hands — not the environmental impact.
Now, as an adult, I see things differently.
Today, we understand the importance of caring for our environment and respecting our natural resources. Wood isn’t just material — it’s memory, history, and a gift from the land. So when I can, I choose reclaimed wood. It feels like honoring the past while doing right by the future.
Recently, while in Maggie Valley, I met a gentleman whose grandfather lived just up the ridge from where I was raised. Funny how the mountains weave paths together like that. In conversation, he mentioned he has wood stored from his grandfather’s old barn — weathered boards full of time, labor, stories, and Appalachian grit.
And somehow, out of that small-town connection, a trade was born:
I’ll make maps. He’ll share the wood.
Truthfully, I know I got the better end of the deal. In fact, not only did I get barn wood — I got old wood from his father’s property. I hit the motherload!
There’s something sacred about wood with a history — wood that has already lived a life, sheltered a family, stood through seasons and storms, and watched the mountains change and not change at all.
I picked up the wood on Sunday and have spent each day since, imagining layers and contours and mountains rising again — this time in art instead of timber.
We talk a lot these days about sustainability. For me, sometimes it looks like this:
🌲 Honoring where I came from.
🌲 Learning from the past.
🌲 Giving old wood a new story to tell.

I can’t wait to share what this barn becomes next.
Stay tuned. 🌿🪵✨
