The exceptionally groomed lawn of Catholic University was
unusually littered for an August morning. The ground was
crisscrossed by oak logs, each one roughly pegged into pine
footings with something resembling a giant wrought iron staple
that kept the rounds from rolling out from under the humans standing atop them. Everywhere you looked the green was strewn with wood chips, debarked trees, and the bustle of people intently discussing, sharpening, and swinging countless unusual tools. All the while, the quiet thrum of a campus in off-season was punctuated by the resonant thunk and thud of more than a dozen axes; crude chunks of white oak flying from the wood’s surface with each blow.
A strange medley of characters peppered this medieval-looking scene: some young, some greying, some dressed in t-shirts, and some in what seemed like garments from another time. There were those carving curls of wood fibers from their deftly swung axes as if the blade tip were an extension of their eyes. While others in small, studious groups stood watching or working alone, focused intently on grasping the wood-handled tool in their palm, endeavoring to wield the sharp bulk of steel hanging at its end.
Listen in closer, and you would find that the diversity of perspectives present in this intrepid group was even greater than your eyes may at first have registered.
Opposite Page:
Trojan Horse
Photograph Courtesy of:
Ttrillium Studios
Above:
Marie Brown
Executive Director
Handshouse Studio
Photograph Courtesy of:
Handshouse Studio
125