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Rebecca and I set off for some gravel road rumbling on a sunny, warm, early fall morning. Sunday was the final day of the Northeast Iowa’s Artist’s Tour. You can take a virtual tour here.
Our second stop was Paul Baughs’ Woodworking, about 10 miles outside Decorah, in the northeast corner of Iowa. If you love this art form, look at Paul’s work.
We pulled into a driveway in a cloud of dust. Two late middle-aged men were sitting in those ancient webbed folding lawn chairs. One guy went into what we assumed was a workshop.
Tom greeted us with, “I always know when guests are coming because their vehicles sound different on the gravel.” It turns out that Tom lives in Decorah, fishes in a stream just down the road, and met Paul two years ago. And, yes, locals drive faster on gravel.
Just off Tom’s right shoulder was this sight.
So I’m forming an impression of the owner of this property — ancient lawn chairs, this hoop, and concrete slab, not Hoosiers-old but still kept in service. Nothing wasted.
Finally, we walked into the workshop and met Paul.
Paul studied art in college and learned carpentry at Iowa’s Amana Colonies’ furniture store.
Don’t you love seeing how people work? The configuration of the wall of tools was itself a work of art. After a few minutes of chit-chat, Paul invited us to his house but asked us to give him a few minutes. You see the house in the first photo. And a close-up below.
Tom walked us down the path and remarked that the house was a 40-year art venture.
Paul filled in the rest of the story. He, his wife, and two young sons moved to the area four decades ago. They purchased the land that included a dilapidated cottage. Paul slowly tore down and rebuilt it while it served sometimes as “barely a roof over their heads.”
Every scrap of the old place was used in the new creation, including this railing.
I’ve been thinking all week about Paul and the other artists we met last Sunday. How best to understand what they do for us. Because they are all doers.
Artists create and offer gifts that did not exist before. Erich Fromm, in The Art of Loving, calls this love, which he writes is
An activity, not a passive effect…In the most general way, the active character of love can be described by stating that love is primarily giving and not receiving.
Artists “have developed a productive character…acquired faith in their powers [and] the courage to rely on those powers.”
It’s easy to forget how most of us are surrounded daily by these offerings.
For example, in the photo below of love objects from our home, Jim carved the phone holder, Pat molded the plate that holds our soup spoon, and Rick threw Rebecca’s favorite coffee mug.
It’s hard to stop once you look at what others have done for you, and you don’t stop with art.
Soon, you encounter awe.
And then you ask what you have done for others.
