About Nelson Ball Studio

I have always been a builder of utilitarian objects. In my early years I worked designing and building our nation's transportation infrastructure, mostly roads and bridges. Roadway construction often requires clearing of trees and existing structures. It is these trees that were destined to be burned or buried that provides the wood for my projects. All of my wood is salvaged from there, the forest floor, or from ancient riverbeds.  I give them a second chance at life by creating furniture and other utilitarian Art. They more than return the favor by breathing new life into me when I share their inner beauty with mankind.

I have been a conservationist all of my adult life. I took a slight detour from my highway construction for couple years and wandered into the world of Zoos and Zoo construction. It was then that I was exposed to a wide variety of endangered species and made aware of so many more. This exposure led me to a lifelong endeavor to help restore endangered species to a viable population. 

I worked on the Red Wolf captive breeding program after seeing some of the last in the wild before the Mississippi River flooded Davis Island in 1973 and wiped out one of the two remaining in existence. I also served six years on the board of directors of the Black Bear Conservation Coalition working to establish two breeding populations with a hardwood corridor between the two. It was a success and in 2016 the Louisiana subspecies of Black Bear was removed from the Endangered list.

I am an outdoor photographer and the pictures scattered through the site are mine. My favorite photographic platform is a small camouflaged paddle boat while slipping silently along a secluded shoreline.

 Around 400 BC an ancient river wound its way through a Cypress swamp. The river would come to be known as the Pearl in the land that would become Louisiana. As the river changed its course it undermined some of these magnificent trees that grew along its bank. As these trees toppled into the water, the river currents began its sculpting process before it eventually covered them up.   

They remained buried for over 2 millennium isolated from the oxygen and weathering forces that existed on the surface. Quietly they lay in the depths absorbing the minerals from the surrounding soil and water before they were brought from 37’ down to the surface in a sand and gravel mining operation.

A Wood-Mizer LT28 bandsaw mill cut all but the two largest logs. I then found a custom aluminum mill that could handle the big ones. It was at these mills, that the inner beauty of these magnificent Bald Cypress came to light. As each slab was removed, we saw the beautiful oranges and rich gold colors we expected. Within minutes of coming into the presence of oxygen the anaerobic bacteria caused the wood to begin taking on an olive hue. That along with the minerals has given this rare wood its unique character and color.

To date, we have had two of these trees’ radiocarbon dated and they died 2250 and 2395 years ago, respectively. It is a true honor to be able to work with wood this old.  It is Sacred.