About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2018)
Nick Bowman Features Editor | 770-718-3426 | life@gainesvilletimes.com She (Times gainesvilletimes.com Friday, December 21,2018 ‘Art always comes first’ Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times Left: Jordan Kilburn, a local wood worker and musician, works on a piece of wood in his shop at home on Thursday, Dec.20. Above: Kilburn’s work can be seen in Avacados and Downtown Drafts. “I love doing things with my hands,” he said. “It’s therapeutic, really. It makes you feel good.” Lula local Jordan Kilburn finds music within woodwork BY KELSEY RICHARDSON krichardson@gainesvilletimes.com If people haven’t listened to Jordan Kilburn play music around the Gaines ville Square, they’ve most likely seen his woodworking. Woodworker by day, musician by night, 29-year-old Kilburn of Lula has intertwined his passions in Hall County. Some of his work can be seen in Avaca dos, including most of its tables and wine holders. Anyone who has entered Down town Drafts and grabbed a beer has viewed the wooden wall menu, or taken a glance at the bar—all of which are Kilburn’s creations. Like most artists, Kilburn started young. Before discovering his artisan skills, he embraced a love for music. He first began playing the guitar in ele mentary school. At 16, Kilburn said he walked into a local music shop after school and spent hours playing the guitar. Around a year later, the owner of the business asked him if he would be interested in teaching guitar lessons. Only 17 years old, Kilburn started provid ing classes to children and his own school mates. It turned into a brisk side business; he received $60 an hour per person. During this time he started playing in a band and would take gigs on weekends. After realizing he was making almost as much as his teachers, Kilburn quit high school, earned his GED and became a full time musician. Taking the plunge into a music career at 18, Kilburn said he soon realized that the real world was more difficult than he anticipated. “When you’re young you think you’ve got it all figured out and then life just beats you down, and it teaches you,” he said. “You can’t have that attitude when you go out into the world.” During his early 20s, Kilburn performed around Atlanta, Buford, Dunwoody and Gainesville. Needing more income to sustain himself, he took on a variety of jobs. Some of these included welding for a sign shop, cooking and serving for restaurants, working as a handyman and making tables for a furni ture shop. Kilburn said each job led him, bit by bit, to woodworking, which quickly developed into a passion. “I love doing things with my hands,” he said. “It’s therapeutic, really.” It wasn’t until he started working for Avocados that he was able to develop a woodworking style of his own. Albert Lunalover, co-owner of Avoca dos, gave Kilburn the opportunity to make new tables for the restaurant in 2016. Kil burn jumped on the offer and since then has been working on projects for local businesses. He said his goal is to make the wood working business a full-time job, while still being able to play music at night. Through Kilburn’s new business Kilburn Crafted, he fulfills custom orders of tables, food trays, birdfeeders, cutting boards, wine holders and other items. Most of the wooden material he uses for his pieces are upcycled from discarded pallets. Kilburn said before he chooses the scraps of wood, he starts by envisioning a finished product. “I always ask myself, ‘If this is your song, what would you write it about?”’ he said. “The finish on the table is the lyrics of the song.” When making music and woodwork, Kilburn said he comes across many simi larities. He describes his style of music and woodworking as “heavy handed.” He finds that his raw Southern rock music parallels with the harsh ripping and sawing of wood. On multiple occasions he has received negative feedback from people who claim that real woodworking doesn’t reveal signs of nails and screws. While Kilburn said he understands their reasoning, he doesn’t feel the need to change his style. “Making money is great, but I can do that anywhere, ” he said. “Art always comes first. Don’t let people take that away from you.” People can contact Kilburn through his Facebook page or email him at kilburncrafted@gmail.com. Most of the wooden material Kilburn uses for his pieces are upcycled from discarded pallets. Before he chooses the scraps of wood, Kilburn starts by envisioning a finished product. A how-to guide to care for your holiday cactus Photo courtesy PEXELS Christmas cacti bloom for the Chrismas season and can be distinguished from Thanksgiving cacti by their stem segment shape and anthers. Some plants have so much meaning. Sometimes it is the white oak my family called “Big Oak” that was the marker for how far I could ride my bike to at the lake cabin’s dirt road. Other times it is the smell of tea olive in the fall that reminds me of my walk from my dorm to English 101 class in the mornings of my freshman year in Athens. This time of year, I get a beauti ful reminder of what season it is with the buds about to explode on a Christmas cactus. Since I was a child, my mother had a cutting of my great grandmother’s Christmas cactus that had been passed down for many years and was gigantic. Right about Dec. 24, it would explode with blooms every year. Lucky for plant lovers, there are actually two similar plants we know as holiday cacti that bloom in the fall and early winter. They are in the genus Schlumbergera and originate from Brazil. These plants are epiphytes, meaning they live in the branches of trees or on rocks. Other plants that do this are Span ish moss and orchids. The two different varieties of cactus that begin to bloom this time of year are the Thanksgiving cac tus (Schumbergera truncata) and Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii). Supposedly, they bloom CAMPBELL VAUGHN ecvaughn@uga.edu for their respective holidays, but growers can manipulate them to bloom earlier or later, so beware. To distinguish between the two varieties, look at the shape of the flattened stem segments. The Thanksgiving cactus have pointed tooth-like notches and the Christ mas cactus have more rounded notches. Another way of telling them apart is that the Thanksgiv ing cactus has yellow anthers (the male part of the flower that carries the pollen) and the Christmas cac tus has purplish-brown anthers. How do the plants know when to bloom? It goes back to photoperiod, the amount of daylight compared to darkness. Thanksgiving cacti are short-day plants. To set their flower buds, they need fourteen or more continuous hours of darkness. It can’t be interrupted with any kind of light. They also need cool night temperatures, between 60 degrees and 68 degrees. Keeping them out side on a porch is ideal for flower blooms to form in our area. Once the cactus blooms, keep the plant above 50 degrees and below 90 degrees or they will drop the buds. Other reasons for bud drop are too much light, cold drafts, over watering, under watering, or a sudden change in temperature. After your holiday cactus blooms, cut back on the watering for a few weeks to let it rest. Then, water when the soil becomes dry to the touch. Fertilize the plant monthly with an all-purpose house- plant food. A soluble fertilizer like Peters or Miracle Grow works best. Cacti have a high magnesium requirement, so once a month in the summer, water with 1 teaspoon Epsom salt per gallon of water. You’ll actually have more flowers if you stop fertilizing the plant once the summer ends. There are a few other things you can do to keep your holiday cactus happy. Make sure your pot has good drainage holes, and keep your cactus somewhat potbound. Repot ting is necessary only about once every three years. Additionally, for bushier plants and more flowers, pinch back three of four segments of each stem in June. You can also use these primings to propagate a new plant. Just place the cuttings about an inch deep in potting mix (you want one of the joints between the segments to be underground) and water the soil well. You can also cover the container with a clear plastic bag secured with a rubber band around the container to create a mini-greenhouse for about 5 weeks, until you have roots. The only disease these cacti have is root rot, which can be prevented by avoiding excessive watering. My final advice is to put keep your cactus outside on a porch for most of the year from after the danger of frost in the spring until November. If you don’t have a porch, put the plant under a tree where it can get filtered sunlight. The holiday cacti will reward you with blooms galore for your holi day festivities. Campbell Vaughn is UGA Extension- Agriculture and Natural Resource Agent in Richmond County. He can be reached at ecvaughn@uga.edu.
