The Lost Carving by David Esterly

Encountering this book was a magical experience. I walked up to a library shelf at random, closed my eyes and pulled it. It found me at the perfect time and inspired me deeply.

Esterly found carving in a similar way, stopping to see the hyper realistic Grinling Gibbons carvings from 1600s in a church and coming out struck by fate and a determination to emulate this form of the craft.

Later in his career he undertakes a project to replicate some of Gibbons’ works after they were damaged or destroyed in a fire. As he does he is haunted by the shadow of Gibbons (his hero) as he tries to live up to it, and to himself.

The book is slow, the writing poetic, and the read is meditative. After I read this book I imagined reaching out to David Esterly but always chickened. He has since passed away and I regret not sending the email. So this rec is also one to send the email!