Cypress Wood Man

Betty called us while we were in Beaumont, Texas, last Wednesday telling us she was planning a trip to see Gerald Judice in New Iberia on Friday.  She wanted to know if we wanted to come in a day early so we could go with the group.  Yes!!!!!!  So even though we had already paid for two nights at the Elks Club in Beaumont, we went ahead and stayed just one night and hightailed it over to Abbeville on Thursday.

We got to Betty’s RV Park around 1 p.m. just in time to set up and think about what to bring for happy hour….which takes place everyday at 4:30 p.m. No one eats dinner around here after sampling all the items at happy hour.  Every one brings such wonderful things to share.

Friday at 9 a.m. practically the whole park carpooled to New Iberia, about 20 miles east of Abbeville.

Here is Gerald Judice explaining how he harvests floating cypress trunks.

 

 

 

Piles of wood drying before being fashioned into bowls, roux spoons and works of art

Walking among even more piles of wood drying in the Louisiana air

Gerald’s backyard has orange and grapefruit trees and he allows us to take home as much fruit as we want. He also has a beautiful Camille bush.

                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

During this visit Gerald demonstrated his plank saw that cuts the logs horizontally.

 

Look at the pretty “art” he got from one cut of a particular log.  Looks like a drawing inside.

 

 

 

 

Gerald took out some of the pieces he takes to art fairs to sell.

Beautiful large platter for only $90	Two unique bowls
An art bowl created by nature in the wood and refined by Gerald Judice	Nature creates some magnificent pieces

Then Gerald took us into his workshop and created a bowl while we watched.  Didn’t take long.

I’ve been kicking myself for two years that I didn’t buy one of Gerald’s roux spoons as they are so nice and can be used to sauté veggies as well as making roux.  This time I bought one and being homemade and only $10

I also bought a rolling pin for $20.  I’ve been using a Pampered Chef mini roller to save space in my drawers, but I couldn’t resist having one that Gerald made himself.

Which one looks better?

It is so well balanced and a dream to use

If you’re interested in reading more about Gerald’s work you can read our blog from February, 2011, where I wrote about our first visit to his property.

We finished the trip with the gang going to lunch  at El Verde Chile.  Yes, I took photos of the food but Jim said I’m taking too many photos of the food we eat and to please cut down….so no photos of food this time.

Remember, you are loved.