Some things only get better with age - wine, violins and, for Shaw Lakey, wood.

In and along certain bodies of water, ancient limbs and stumps have sat for years, sometimes decades. They've been preserved in mud, hardening with time. The winds, waves and animals in this environment leave their marks of character on cedar, oak and pine.

Cruising along the Cape Fear River, Snow's Cut, marshes and other waterways from Carteret County to South Carolina, Mr. Lakey finds wood in this aged state and carries it home.

"It looks like mud balls when I bring it home," he said. "It's all wood that has a shape in it or it's a wood I like to work with, like the teredo worm wood."

Back in his shop, Mr. Lakey cleans the pieces and takes a long look at them. After some adjustments with a chain saw, 400-grit automotive wet sandpaper and shoe polish, plus some touches of copper here and there, forms begin to take shape.

"I learned that in Jamaica," he said, referring to the shoe polish technique. "Everything here is hand polished. The wood, when it's polished right, it just comes to life."

The form it takes depends on the color, shape and contour of the wood. Usually, the natural curves and crevices begin to look like other natural components of the waterways: whales, shore birds, reef fish and alligators.

Often, Mr. Lakey will tack thin pieces of copper onto the pieces for extra dimension. The metal is easy to shape and heat turns it to different colors. It creates a warm feel, like the wood, he said.

At The Gallery at Racine, visitors will see Loafing Leather, a teredo worm oak and copper leatherback turtle.

True True, a true American red snapper made of cedar and copper, and You Old Goat, a comical goat head made from "unknown stump and copper" also are on display.

What visitors will not see is Mr. Lakey's first piece, a coffee table made from an old oak stump.

"My wife won't let me sell it," he said. "But, she helps me. I couldn't have done it without her."

Amy Hotz: 343-2099 amy.hotz@starnewsonline.com

 

Click here to see Shaw at work.