CORD OF ASH

Iowa's Renaissance Man

Greetings!

I am so excited to finally begin my Substack writings and I am glad you found me here!

I plan on sharing my creative endeavors. I work on paintings, songs, poetry and sculptures. I travel a lot as well, so my focus for this Substack page is all about staying inspired and sharing it with a community of creatives.

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This first week of 2025 I have written two songs already!

One is a song about the cold of January and the other is a song about long, lost love.

My first song of the year came to me in one sitting, stream of conscious type of writing. It was a cold day outside as I sat and picked on the parlor guitar in my living room with a fire in the fireplace at my back. You can certainly pick up on the references in the lyrics. The song is titled…

“Cord of Ash”

You were always the golden child

Mama did her best to raise you right

Now you are as lost as a milk carton kid

You were always the golden child

You are lost in ways I've never known

I have never seen such a sight

Wander in the dark a smile on your face

How do you sleep at night?

How do you sleep at night?

There are wolves outside the door

Gnashing there two inch teeth

Turn down the lanterns, unfurl the blind

So they can not see

The woodpile is running low

Better keep the flame burning slow

January comes with its own kind of cold

Better keep the flame burning slow

Better keep the flame burning slow

She was always on your mind

Everything she took from you

You’d give it all again for a cord of ash

She was always on your mind

Northern woods still haunt you

But you were never one to run and hide

No gas for you lantern, no wood for the fire

How do you sleep at night?

How do you sleep at night?

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Here is a link to listen to it!

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HARRIS’ HAWKS

I just finished a commissioned painting this week as well. It is a 36”x 48” canvas of Harris’ Hawks. I have loved these birds of the Southwest for years. I remember seeing a PBS documentary about them in college and was inspired to create a relief carved tribute to these raptors in clay back in 1995.

The clients are friends who hired me to paint this painting have a unique connection to the hawks. Two of them showed up at their wedding. The groom had just lost his father and brother, so it was a very powerful symbol to them from that wedding day. I did my best to capture something they could feel a connection to in their home.

Here is the painting.

I am always so honored and moved to have my art and music woven into the story of people's lives. It is an important part of who I am.

I didn't understand this when I chose to be an artist back when I was 6 years old. It took time and many encounters to understand how my ability to create could be a voice for others. I am grateful for that connection.

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Winter can be long in Iowa. January, especially. After the glitz and glimmer of the holidays have passed…January is a reminder that our lives keep trudging along like heavy boots through the dancing drifts. It helps to know there is wood for the fire inside. I hope this format for my writing serves as that. A cord of ash, the hardest and best wood for making a fire. Ash also happens to be my eldest son’s name.

Thank you for reading/listening today. I will continue to share these ramblings from my studio, van or home.

In gratitude,

Chad Elliott