Given Vantine's creative knack, fragrance of the wood becomes secondary to the natural grain that emerges from hours of sanding and coatings of protective polyurethane. Creations include the one he is holding, which features a hummingbird buzzing around a suspended flower.
Art can be as simple as a bump on a log.
Woodcrafter James Vantine of Sterling, a Comanche County community northeast of Lawton, gives tree knots a lot of attention, particularly when it comes to cedar. Given Vantine's creative knack, fragrance of the wood becomes secondary to the natural grain that emerges from hours of sanding and coatings of protective polyurethane. Also displayed are items ranging from large stumps to lengths of wood from small limbs. Two things are common to most items. Over his six creative years of turning common cedar into art objects Vantine has learned to look for trees with lots of knots.