Saturday Good Reads: The School of the Transfer of Energy

A few miles southeast of Wichita, Kansas, lies the town of Rose Hill, and it is there you will find The School of the Transfer of Energy. The “head” of the school is a painter, carpenter, printmaker, sculptor, farmer named Jack Baumgartner. Oh, he’s a puppeteer, too.

I can’t remember how I happened upon his web site, but one day I landed there, and found it to be a remarkable place indeed. He describes it as a studio-workshop-farm, and it is all of these but something more, too.

Part of the wonder is how he documents what he’s doing – primarily by photography. The photographs themselves – working at red cedar, drawing, sawing, details of prints – are works of art in themselves. They remind me of the mystery, or almost-mystery that you find in Ann Voskamp’s photos at A Holy Experience. Or is it wonder?

Baumgartner creates objects of art large, small and in-between. He creates furniture and wooden sculpture, decorative items using a deer skull, carved goblets and plates. And the prints, oh, yes, the prints, things of beauty and intrigue, pulling you in to study them closely to see all of what’s there – and you keep finding new things.

Pay Jack a visit, and see some of the beauty that’s there. Be forewarned – you can spend a lot of time in The School of the Transfer of Energy.

Illustration: the Archway by Jack Baumgartner (detail).