The Lost Carving: A Journey to the Heart of Making

“This is a strange and wonderful book, simultaneously a meditation on the nature of making and a reflection on time. It is riveting.”—Edmund de Waal, New York Times bestselling author of The Hare with Amber Eyes

"David Esterly's memoir is a beautiful, intricate mediation on creativity and discovery, on fire and rebirth, on culture and history. Truly, this is a story to be pored over with love and admiration."—Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray Love and Committed

"This is a beautiful and remarkable book. David Esterly is a rare bird.  First and foremost, he is an artist and a craftsman. A virtuoso carver of wood, he makes objects of sublime beauty and accomplishment that enchant and amaze. He is also a gifted scholar. As a maker, he practices a tradition that operates, as he puts it “near the bedrock” of human cultural activity. His own story is woven through with fascinating insights into this tradition and the towering influences on his own practice. And he is a gifted writer. With the literary sensibilities of a poet, he describes how he came late upon his passion for carving and how the objects he makes take shape from the vibrant relationships between the wood, his tools and his own creative energies. Esterly writes in the same way that he carves - with a nuanced feel for structure and form, a revealing use of metaphor and an incisive sense of style.  Part cultural history, part detective story and part memoir, The Lost Carving will enlighten and delight anyone with a real interest in creativity, aesthetics and the human spirit."—Sir Ken Robinson, New York Times bestselling author of The Element

"Every now and then there comes along a memoir that stands out for its beauty, its ability to charm, and its insights into a life given over to art. This lovely book about woodcarving is just such a work. Entrancing."—Alexander McCall Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection