● Artist Statement I feel that God has given me the gift of working wood with my hands. I hand carve hummingbirds from different species of wood, trying to show the beauty of wood in the shape of a hummingbird. I have gifted over 3,000 of these little birds to people, literally, all over the world and here at home. These small treasures touch people in a way I could never have dreamed. I have recently started sculpting wood into bowls and vessels using a wood lathe. I have truly found a new passion. Introducing a gouge into a piece of spinning wood takes me into the inner depths of my mind where time has no meaning. My refuge. My space. I allow the wood to tell me what shape it wants to be. None of my pieces are the same and each has its own unique personality. Resume Michael Gable, born March, 4, 1953, in San Jose California. I have lived in or near Shreveport, Louisiana for most of my life. I started my working career as a carpenter and cabinet maker. I was chosen as lead carpenter while working on the (then) Commercial National Bank, to install the prefinished, book matched, black walnut paneling in the bankʼs board room. The woodwork in this room was valued at $500,000.00. I joined Virginia Mill and Fixture in 1988, assuming the role as Shop Foreman, specialty man. During my nearly eight years there, I was involved in some very memorable projects, including: I built a display case used in Norton Art Gallery with curved glass doors. I built the Reredos Wall in the main chapel of First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport. I built the forms to make bent plywood to construct a cabinet that had 54" radius doors that faced the kitchen in a home for a former architect here in Shreveport. The cabinet was made out of American Black Walnut. I have manufactured many Gothic Arched door frames with trim to replace all the doors and frames in the renovation to St. John Berchmans Cathedral in Shreveport. Other projects in the renovation included: choir rail, confessionals, Ambo, and replicating missing pieces of trim that were almost 100 years old. I am now retired and can concentrate on my artwork. I love finding and using unique pieces of wood to carve hummingbirds and create sculpture with a wood lathe. I still marvel at the beauty hidden within the bark of trees. I do not cut any living trees to obtain wood for my purpose. Tornadoes, disease, and friends that are tree surgeons help to supply me with plenty of wood. I also find trees that have been cut and stacked near the curb ready for trash pickup.