Joe Moore enjoys taking an ordinary piece of wood and turning it into a unique, beautiful piece of art.
Moore, a resident of Eden Terrace of Spartanburg, has been creating things from wood since he was a child. His father worked in a sawmill, and Moore spent many happy hours watching his dad and learning how to operate all of the machines.
“Within years, I knew how to run every machine there, and there were a lot of machines,” Moore says.
His work runs the gamut from a toothbrush with an exquisitely carved wooden handle, to large pieces of furniture, to his latest masterpiece, a chess set that he lovingly made for his friends at Eden Terrace.
Moore enjoys working with just about any type of wood, but he crafted the chess set using black walnut and white oak – to match the two-color theme of the game.
Though he lives at Eden Terrace, he maintains a workshop in his hometown of Gaffney. He goes there every day to carve and sand and sculpt his wooden treasures.
The chess set has been a long time in the making. He bought the metal toppers – the rooks and pawns and horses – about six years ago, intending to start working on the individual pieces then.
A couple of health issues forced him to postpone his work on the chess set, but once he recovered, he got back to his project.
Moore is excited for his friends to see and enjoy the special gift he created for them.
“I have made a lot of friends here, and I always make something with the intention to give,” he says. “A gift is not a gift if you expect something in return. It brings me joy to give from my heart.”
To learn more about Eden Terrace of Spartanburg, call us at 864-579-7387 to schedule a tour.
