A Saturday morning at the Harrell home, and the pace is easygoing. The rural Clay County landscape bathed in brilliant sunlight and early fall breezes slopes down to the edge of Waverly Waters Lake behind the house. In front, grassland stretches in all directions. In the distance, No. 34 on the Oak Hill Academy Raiders football roster loosens up after the previous night’s grueling game by playing fetch with a big, happy dog named Wolfgang. The running back and his hairy pet make their way across a pasture, to the barn. It’s in the barn, in his workshop, that the athlete morphs into a craftsman.
Samuel Harrell is 17, but already exhibits a creative streak more developed than many adults. The high school senior has an affinity for wood, its textures, lines and grains. That rapport began early, an extension of exploring the forests of Northeast Mississippi and surrounds, kayaking its waters and hiking the Appalachian Trail with his dad.
What honed his focus, however, was the watchful eye of his grandfather, Robert Harrell, a contractor with a woodworking hobby.
“I grew up in his shop, cutting out small knives on the bandsaw, doing a lot of sanding. I remember making little bamboo swords,” says Samuel. “I got serious at about age 10 or 11.”
He has stayed serious, and this past summer spent almost a month at his Uncle John H. Bryan’s Crab Tree Farm near Chicago, absorbing all he could from artist-in-residence Mike Jarvi. Jarvi is known for his organic furniture designs in wood. Crab Tree, which houses Bryan’s renowned collection of Arts and Crafts furniture and decorative arts was a fertile learning ground. The equipment and tools available alone were a revelation to Samuel. The British-manufactured VB36 lathe, for example, was enough to make a woodturner’s eyes glaze.
“You could turn a 6-foot diameter block of wood on that if you wanted to,” Samuel says, with something resembling awe.
Crazy ideas
The young Harrell’s creativity isn’t limited to wood. He does some work in metal, and one of his projects in Chicago was a singular patriotic chair — a matter of styrofoam, epoxy, fiberglass and imagination.
“I’ve always had the idea of making a chair; I visualized it in my head,” he explains. “I just get all these crazy ideas.”
Not so crazy. People are taking note of his skill.
Critz Campbell of West Point has long encouraged Samuel. Campbell, associate professor at Mississippi State University and an alumnus of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, is well-known for his art studio designs in furniture and other artistic techniques. He spent some time working with Samuel in Chicago and is glad to mentor in whatever capacity he can.
West Point native Corey Ellis is the founder of Redemption Custom Calls, which specializes in turkey calls, as well as other wildlife calls.
“Samuel’s a great kid; we’ve become good friends,” says Ellis, who now resides near Aberdeen. “We’ve actually made some calls together; all I had to do is show him one time. I like to call it a God-given talent … you’re not that gifted unless God gives it to you.”
In his shop, Samuel points out a few of the items he’s collected. One pride and joy is a large, 19-century wooden chest mounted, open, on the wall. It was discovered in the Waverley Mansion antiques shop. The tools neatly arranged have the sheen of use and age. They once belonged to a craftsman named G.H. Mertz. Samuel knows, thanks to papers found inside the trunk, some dated 1897, and the initials stamped on implements that were obviously prized.
“It’s very rare to find a collection of that kind, and the chisels are top quality from that period; I use them quite often,” the woodworker says.
Home and heart
Samuel’s most avid cheerleaders are his parents, brothers and sister. Mom and dad, Robert and Tonya Harrell, have always been good about allowing their children to go for their dreams, their son says, even though, he admits, that may sound cliche.
Around the time Samuel started high school, Robert was deployed to Afghanistan with the National Guard. That time period intensified his son’s interest in keeping his hands busy, seeing what he could accomplish. At the house, Tonya and Samuel’s sister, Ann Caroline, are justifiably proud of those projects that chronicle his progression. A tabletop holds decorative and tiered boxes, an amplifier for music devices, a rifle with custom wood fittings. Even the deck outside, where cardinals light to visit, holds tree stumps in stages of transformation.
Tonya shows handsome bowls of earth tones and beautiful grains, some with natural rims. Ann Caroline brings out one very special bowl, made of elm. It was a birthday gift from Samuel. The wood is cracked, and chosen for that reason. A bow tie-shaped inlay binding the crack is made from the casket of Samuel’s brother, James, who lost his life at 22 in an auto accident in December 2013. James, frequently dapper, liked to wear bow ties.
The inlay has meaning in more ways than one, Samuel shares. The bow tie technique, often used in woodwork to mend splits, is an homage to not only his brother, but also to the power of loving memories of James to help the family heal.
What the future holds, Samuel isn’t sure of yet. There will be mediums to experiment with, creative ideas to pursue. And there will be many more walks in the woods, looking at trees and their contours in a way the rest of us never think of doing.
“It’s taking a raw substance, a raw object or resource, and turning it into something that can be beautiful and have a purpose, too,” he says. “I guess, in the end, it always comes back to wood.”
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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