Welcome to the Third Life Journey website - a site featuring the wood sculptures of Russ Abolt, 'Spirithome' the home of Montana sculptor Russ Abolt and yoga instructor Larrine Abolt, a sculpture park called 'Imagination Garden', a log cabin available for rent and more...

An introduction to these very specific type of wood sculptures, which are always created using found wood and are therefore artifacts of the forest, can best be characterized by the following passage from Henry David Thoreau:

"My profession is always to be alert, to find God in Nature, to know God's lurking plans, to attend to all the oratorios and the operas in nature."

 
Russ Abolt in an interview about Third Life Studio for 'Alpine Artisans Tour of the Arts' by Rohrer Video & Film.

 "All my wood is third life wood... the tree has returned to the ground. It's begun to decay. A lot of the wood has decay in it which gives it added character. It's really honoring nature, and Nature is the artist, I'm just a facilitator to that process. So when you look at my sculpture it will hopefully please the eye because it's all about nature and the wonderful directions that it takes as it grows...

As most folks will tell you when they're involved with their art, time becomes a meaningless dimension and it's very intense, and very focused, and very satisfying. It has to be between me and the wood so... that to me is the definition of art."