First, an Introduction to Cleaver Magazine; you may want to check out back issues and subscribe.
Cleaver Magazine shares “cutting-edge” artwork and literary work from a mix of established and emerging voices: "We publish poetry, short stories, essays, flash prose (approximately 500 words or less), visual art, graphic narratives, and graphic narratives. We publish our literary content quarterly, in March, June, September, and December. In each issue we present several emerging writers and at least one emerging visual artist alongside established writers and artists. We see ourselves as facilitators and stewards of the literary and artistic work that we publish."
"Our editors have deep ties to the Philadelphia community. We are an international magazine, but maintain a commitment to publish about 25% Philadelphia-based writers in each issue.
We are independent and self-funded and are grateful for support, in part, from the Philadelphia Cultural Fund and Kelly Writers House."
Throughout my life I have sought the companionship of trees, and have developed an ever deepening reverence for them. Trees are intelligent, resilient, majestic, and adaptable. When a tree has reached the end of its life, the shadow of what once was presents another gift in the form of a satiny, warm, sensual material.
Each piece of wood has its own story—reflections of moments specific to place and time within the architecture of a species. Each tree has its own experience and characteristics uniquely formed by its geographical location, the effects of the seasons, wind, rain, and what grew beside it. The history of each year is physically recorded in each ring slowly reacting to external and internal stresses after it has died and been cut into lumber. Reading this story in the grain is just as exciting to me as transforming it into an artifact. The more time I spend with each piece of wood, the deeper my understanding grows. Respecting its capacity and understanding its potential, I can be more thoughtful in how I bring the piece to completion.
Everything that I create is an experiment. Whether the approach is multi-axis split turning, bending, or carving by hand, it is always an exploration of the material’s unique potential.
