When I first picked up the wood today I had a clear picture in my head of the small boat that I wanted to make. I didn’t expect to find that the wood would have so much say in the process. I found the wood deciding what direction I would have to pull or push the blade. The carving knife was not something I saw as an actor in this relationship but as the medium through which the carver and the wood communicate. The knife allows the carver to tell the wood what it would like the wood to do and the wood can either comply or provide resistance. I by the end of the hour had found that I hadn’t made nearly as much progress as I’d hoped. The canoe I had hoped to make still very much resembled a block of wood, one whose corners had been rounded down. I see the carving as a mode of sub-creation. The wood was a part of nature and had a purpose in nature as a part of a poplar tree. After it was taken from nature it was shaped into a block and given to me. Now I have the task of finding a new purpose for the wood that has been separated from its origins. The carving process is a very slow process that will allow me to find the right shape for the wood, a shape that the wood and knife will allow me to create. This relationship between the carver and the wood can be related again to the biblical understanding of creation and Man’s role as one with dominion over earth. The carver represents man and he can assign a form to the wood, but the wood must agree to that form for it to come out well. If the carver tries to carve against the grain, and make cuts that the wood won’t allow, then the final form will be malformed. Ultimately the carver wants to assign a form that the wood will accept. This actually relates to sustainability because humans want to use the environment in ways that keeps it healthy. Humankind’s goals are better achieved when accomplished with the consent of nature. Technology like the carving blade allows human beings to accomplish these goals but that technology gives humans the power to accomplish without consent.