Learn more about the Tin Woodman in Tom Vogt’s Sunday sotry.
When L. Frank Baum created the Tin Woodman in 1900, he gave the “Oz” character a great story line, but no heart.
Thanks to Clark County’s Recycled Arts Festival, area artists have created more hearts than the Tin Woodman could ever use.
And they come with some great story lines. We shared a couple of them in Sunday’s Life section, explaining the origins of two of the most popular hearts.
Learn more about the Tin Woodman in Tom Vogt's Sunday sotry.
But there were other heart-felt stories about cardiac concepts and some components. They include a tree that was growing before Washington became a state, and a lot of recycled metal from shotgun shells.
Christi Sell uses that expended ammunition for her artwork.
“I make shotgun-shell party lights and I punch all the primers out of the shells to let light shine through, and also to let rain water drain if they are hung outside,” said Sell.
“I save all the primers in hopes that someday I will find a project for them.”
She made a heart-shaped form out of cardboard and filled it with some masonry mortar she uses in her art business, called Christi’s Creations. She studded the heart with used primers plus one head from a 12-gauge shell.
Max McBurnett crafted his heart from a piece of a maple tree that was 150 to 200 years old. When an arborist was hired to take down the tree, McBurnett was asked if he wanted a maple burl.
McBurnett’s response: “Do I want gold?”
McBurnett is a member of the Pacific Northwest Woodturning Guild, which has participated in the arts festival since 2008.
At the festival, McBurnett explained how his finished product didn’t just represent a heart-shaped work of art. The maple burl brings its own voice to the Tin Woodman’s story.
If you look closely at the polished wood, McBurnett said, “It has a yellow brick road. That’s his journey.”
Off Beat lets members of The Columbian news team step back from our newspaper beats to write the story behind the story, fill in the story or just tell a story.
