HIATUS: THE WEDDING GIFT

Leo, a friend of mine from college and fraternity brother, somewhat commissioned me for this piece. He was getting married in the summer of 2007 to his fiance Adelaide. He requested that I make a gift for his soon-to-be bride that he could present to her at the wedding. I was pretty honored at such a request. It is a great experience to create something that signifies a transition in life, such as a gift for a birth or a wedding. The subject of Leo's idea is a really neat story in itself.

As the story goes (let's hope I get all the details right), Adelaide spent many of her summers at a girls camp called Camp Sequoya, first just attending and eventually as a counselor. Many of the bridesmaids as well as some of her relatives also attended the camp. Unfortunately, within the past few years the camp was sold and closed down. Leo and Adelaide tried to visit the camp when they were dating but weren't let in by the new owners. The closest they got to it was the sign that was still standing at the entrance. This was truly unfortunate, especially since Leo had the engagement ring in his pocket and was planning on proposing at the camp. Luckily Leo just rolled with the changes, and asked her anyways. She said YES. And the rest as they say is history. (LEO: Tell me if I screwed any of that up)

Leo's idea was for me to make a replica of the sign so that she could forever remember the camp. Leo sent me a few photos to go by for the design. I'm very surprised at how close I came to the original. In fact, the former camp director was at the wedding and she thought that I had stolen the original sign.

The original
My version

The presentation of the sign was the best part of it all. All of the ladies at the wedding that had ever attended or worked at the camp gathered for a group picture. At this point Leo presented Adelaide with the sign in front of all of them. Normally I'd say making the bride cry is a bad thing, but in this case it was perfect. Everyone loved it, especially Adelaide. Another successful project, and even more rewarding since it was a gift for two good friends. I have kept all of my cigar work, so sharing my passion for carving through a gift is such a great experience.