"The final product is beautiful, but the process is sweat and work and ultimately, an incredibly amount of effort."
Kim Min Wook has always had a fascination with making things beautiful, and feels that it’s in his DNA. The artist gravitated towards woodworking and has always had an affinity for trees. They are the longest living and tallest living thing on the planet, afterall. While some people like the feel dirt in their hands, and other’s like water, Kim liked the feel of wood. After taking a woodworking class with 20 other students, Kim was only one of only three students to become a woodworker. It was in this class he realized he was different. While most people think about how they can transform wood to make something for themselves, Kim always tried to revive the innate beauty of the tree. Kim says, “Even if my talent is lacking, wood is so beautiful it makes up for where I lack. It fixes me in places, and compensates for my shortcomings. I follow where the wood takes me, I leave my own ambition at the door.” Kim Min Wook’s works are extraordinarily light in comparison to the huge log that he starts with and oftentimes, a block of wood can go from 80 pounds to 1 pound (he works with his father to carry these large pieces of lumber). Stripping away that much wood takes an enormous amount of work. The final product is beautiful, but the process is sweat and work and ultimately, in incredibly amount of effort.
