ZenTao Design

A hardy survivor of the arid limestone hills, Juniper stumps are the premier representative of the Texas hill country. Despised by most locals for their invasive tendencies, I love them for their beautiful root structures. The stumps I use are rare, one of a kind, chosen for their strength and structure. Most have been axe chopped by the cedar whackers and ranchers of old, left to cure in the environment for at least 15 years, some as long as 40. These old juniper grew on a solid layer of limestone giving their roots a structure perfect for inversion. Climatic conditions and curing in the hills for this long has made them extremely dense, resinous, light, strong, weather resistant and stable. When properly cured and highly polished the grain resembles Cypress as they are in the same family. To find a stump suitable for these creations entails scouring hundreds of acres through the cedar breaks looking for suitable bases of these ancient trees. The task usually involves walking many miles through dense varied terrain with countless hours of searching. Retrieving them from the earth involves much labor, hauling them out of the hills requires even more. Then they are allowed to air cure for another year before they are ready to carve.

I try to keep my carving to a minimum, just letting the natural form present itself. Polishing brings the grain to the surface for our human eyes to appreciate. The beauty is inherent in their natural form and function. Once the stump is finally polished and ready to display I honor it with a sculptural steel base made in its mirror image through my eyes and hands. I use the steel rods for their infinite malleability and simple beauty. Some energy seers say everything is composed of lines or chords. Maybe this is a visual representation of this. I try to create smooth graceful lines attempting to emulate the flow of natural wood grain. To me the stump and roots represent the unseen providers of life. The heart of the tree which provides strength stability and earth nourishment necessary to stand proud and tall. To complete the functional sculpture I flake the edge of the glass, the same way we flaked flint tools for thousands of years, then a slight round over polish to remove all sharp edges.

Juniper stump tables are my favorite assemblage of materials. This piece represents a respect of nature, our heritage, and beauty of creation. The steel base represents modern man and our evolutionary grasp of materials and processes. It pays homage to the stump and man's evolution.