Reflections — The Soul of a Tree by George Nakashima
a flat lay of the book… giving 2012 vibes
The Soul of a Tree by George Nakashima — I was gifted this book from a dear friend (hi Abraham) when I gained interest in creating with wood.
I don’t think I’ll go into the background of George Nakashima and his work or philosophies. A quick search online would do a lot more justice than what I could probably summarize. What I really wanted to pen down was more book- centric: a short summary of the book, and my takeaways from it.
This book was deceivingly simple. If you ruffled through the pages, you’ll be met with short proses, black and white sketches of trees and furniture, and a wide variety of images documenting Nakashima’s creations, surroundings, and life. It could exist on a countertop as a photobook. Yet, if you read it proper, Nakashima had a way of giving us an insight into his perspective through simple prose.
The book has 3 parts to it: (1) The Making of a Woodworker, (2) The Tree, and lastly, (3) The Making of an Object.
In Part One: The Making of a Woodworker, he recounts about his experiences at various points of his life, traversing between countries and cities, ranging from Paris, Tokyo, Pondicherry, to New Hope, Pennsylvania — where he finally set up shop.
I’m not going to over-romanticize the idea of migration here (it’d go on forever). But, there’s something special in immersing oneself in another culture for a prolonged period of time. It takes effort to uproot, learn new customs, unlearn old ones, and rebuild a life from scratch. It’s plenty of change. Effort aside, it takes courage — lots of it. Much less, Nakashima did it numerous times. And through it all, his worldview took shape. I think this was an insight on how one’s experiences will eventually shape judgement. This then translates into one’s design choices and principles.
one of my favorite pages in the book. a complex bark segmented into 8, labelled in fashion.
The first part of the book was an insight into how his worldview was shaped, which was a segue into his view on the material that he worked with: the Tree. Part Two of the book was slightly more technical, touching on topics like the structure of a tree, Yakusugi Trees (trees that are over 1000 years old), and how he maintains a connection with the Woods.
You’d have to read it for yourself to feel the words that he used. He imbued the technicalities of lumber with a deep respect for it. Somehow, the lumber felt alive through his prose. It wasn’t just “ah, this is the pith of the tree, that does…”, but more of, “the pith of the tree, the lifeline of the tree, ever so essential”. It wasn’t just material to him. And for all the excess that we have in the world today, such sacredness of material seemed like something that was foreign.
The final part of the book was a discussion on The Making of an Object — that is, how he curates objects. I have 2 favorite quotes from this segment of the book:
“I go back into the wilderness, to find kinship beside a rock, behind a tree or under a leaf. I meditate and listen for answers. Since I am alone, the answers must be personal and inspired by movements I can feel intensely but cannot perceive or see. It is a lonely but satisfying quest.”
&
“It is a stirring moment when out of an inert mass drawn from nature we set out to produce an object never before seen, an object to enhance man’s world; above all, a tree will live again”.
Simply put, there’s connection in creation: a connection between the material, maker, and his work. A cat has nine lives, but a tree has one that seems perpetual — through the time it stands and through the object it becomes after being downed. The maker has the responsibility to give the material its second life; for it to live again.
All in all, it’s worth the read. A simple book of Nakashima’s reflections: succinct and telling of his principles. Something that I’d pick up every once in a while to remind myself of the responsibility of craftsmanship.
And definitely something I’d leave on my coffee table for guests to flip through :)
