David Esterly
â€œA beautiful, intricate meditation on creativity and discovery, on fire and rebirth.â€ â€”Elizabeth Gilbert, Awestruck at the sight of a Grinling Gibbons carving in a London church, David Esterly chose to dedicate his life to woodcarvingâ€”its physical rhythms, intricate beauty, and intellectual demands. Forty years later, he is the foremost practitioner of Gibbonsâ€™s forgotten technique, which revolutionized ornamental sculpture in the late 1600s with its spectacular cascades of flowers, fruits, and foliage., After a disastrous fire at Henry VIIIâ€™s Hampton Court Palace, Esterly was asked to replace the Gibbons masterpiece destroyed by the flames.Â  It turned out to be the most challenging year in Esterlyâ€™s life, forcing him to question his abilities and delve deeply into what it means to make a thing well. Written with a philosopherâ€™s intellect and a poetâ€™s grace, ,The Lost Carving, explores the connection between creativity and physical work and illuminates the passionate pursuit of a vocation that unites head and hand and heart.
Nonfiction,Autobiography,Memoir,Art,Art,Woodwork,History,Biography,Biography,Autobiography,Philosophy,European Literature,British Literature,Art,Crafts
The Lost Carving: A Journey to the Heart of Making