{"product_id":"the-long-sleeper-hand-carved-cottonwood-wood-spirit-1-of-1-waldgeist-face-carving","title":"\"The Long Sleeper\" — Hand-Carved Cottonwood Wood Spirit | 1-of-1 Waldgeist Face Carving","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne carving. One of one. When it's gone, it's gone.\u003c\/strong\u003e A narrow oval opened through the bark, and inside it an old spirit caught halfway between sleep and waking — half-lidded eyes, a high smooth forehead, a heavy mustache and a split beard that runs the full length of the log. He looks like he has been listening for a long time. Carved by hand by New Mexico artist KC Bonnell in his High Rolls mountain studio.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eKnock on wood works better if you have wood\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe wood spirit is old business. The Germans called him \u003cem\u003eWaldgeist\u003c\/em\u003e — forest spirit — and carvers cut his face into the trees of the Black Forest to mark boundaries and to watch over anyone passing through. Older still is the belief, common to Celtic and Germanic folklore, that spirits lived inside trees and could be woken by a knock on the trunk — for protection, for luck, or to keep bad luck from overhearing you. Travelers who wanted safe passage carved these faces onto walking staffs and pieces of bark and carried them along — the same impulse behind the Green Man staring out of the leaves in a medieval church.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhy this one hits different\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHand-carved original\u003c\/strong\u003e —  no CNC, no mold, no duplicate anywhere.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCottonwood\u003c\/strong\u003e — the carving wood of the Southwest, the same species New Mexico santeros used for their bultos.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSeasoned over 18 months\u003c\/strong\u003e before a single cut was made, so the wood is stable and done moving.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePale heartwood, dark bark\u003c\/strong\u003e — the contrast does the work no stain could fake.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eDetails\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWood:\u003c\/strong\u003e New Mexico cottonwood, single piece\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSeasoning:\u003c\/strong\u003e air dried over 18 months prior to carving\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFinish:\u003c\/strong\u003e hand oiled, natural bark retained\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e palm-sized — see the video for scale in hand\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eQuantity available:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShips from:\u003c\/strong\u003e High Rolls, New Mexico — packed and mailed from the artist's studio\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShipping:\u003c\/strong\u003e FREE shipping within the United States\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003ePerfect for\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCabin and mountain interiors, desk and shelf, folk art and folklore collectors, woodsmen, hikers and hunters, anyone into Green Man, druid and Celtic tradition, fantasy readers, or anyone who could use a little luck watching the room.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCare\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKeep it out of direct sun and off damp surfaces. Dust with a dry brush. Re-oil once a year with mineral or boiled linseed oil to keep the grain rich.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFine seasoning checks and irregular bark are the wood telling you where it came from — not flaws.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"KC Bonnell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52281563349288,"sku":"KCB-SPIRIT-02","price":100.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0790\/9572\/6376\/files\/wood-spirit-2-cottonwood-carving.jpg?v=1787696869","url":"https:\/\/kcbonnell.art\/products\/the-long-sleeper-hand-carved-cottonwood-wood-spirit-1-of-1-waldgeist-face-carving","provider":"kcbonnell.art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}