T. Haney, One of My Neighbors

One of my closest neighbors and good friends is Tom Haney, a longtime and relentless artist and phenomenon, whose work, however, is as different from mine as can be, and this is reflected as well as anything by the respective edifices that we chose to build and to live in. His house, which is right across from us but a distance down the road, is large and resembles a cabinet in a museum display of modern furniture, and in fact he used to build display cases and other things for the Smithsonian in D.C. He has gone to extra lengths to assemble everything in his home with precision, great artistic judgment, unbelievable industry, and especially with smoothness.

I emphasized the smoothness because my house is small, imprecisely constructed, and is characterized by the rough, unplaned lumber fresh from the local sawmills that I used to build it. Yet, after 30 years, it is still standing as sound as ever and giving us good shelter, and that's the main thing, and I even happen to think that it is also attractive and that it blends in great with the surrounding woods and...

But this post is not about my house or me but about Tom Haney and specifically about his great website that his daughter, Cynthia, recently showed the high quelity of her genes by upgrading with so much industry and artistry. I'm told that it contains 138 pages, one, I assume for each of the pieces that they chose to display. And you can reach his site by going here.

When they say that his art is centered mainly on the human female form, they're not just kidding. From the beginning Tom has zeroed in on that marvel of nature with the utmost dedication. Here is an example, one of my favorites among his work. It's called "Beads."


But as good as the illustrations on the site are, his work really demands to be seen close up. His attention to detail is really incredible, and even at times, a little frightening. Some of his pieces make me wonder how he could still have any eyesight left. And it doesn't matter if the piece in question is large or small

If you are ever in this neck of the woods, you would do well to drop in and see his stuff and hopefully even buy a piece or two. He and Cynthia will tell you how to get there. Not here -- you wouldn't be interested -- but definitely there.

He is a good example of those wonders that occasionally you read about, hidden unheralded in the woods, and are suddenly discovered and widely toasted to the amazement and admiration of all.