A new art show centered around a familiar wood carver opened up at the Tubman Museum in Macon Friday.
Former Macon-Bibb County Emergency Management Director Don Druitt admitted he's a little crazy about his passion.
"Every time you'd carve something, you'd want to do it even more, so now it's turned into almost an obsession," Druitt said.
Druitt chipped away at that obsession for 23 years.
"Initially when I got started, I was doing it on the kitchen table and then I'd have to clean up real quick because my wife would say 'you've got to go vacuum and dust and everything,'" Druitt said.
So now he's carved out his own space in a corner of his office but thoughts of his wife are never far away.
"I have a lot of music carvings and this particular one close to you to, Burrito, it's a man and a lady," Druitt said. "Karen and I have been married for 44 years and been together way before college."
If Druitt looks a bit familiar, it's because the couple came to Central Georgia back in 2010.
"I spent 21 years in the military and another 21 years in emergency management," Druitt said.
Before he retired, Druitt headed up the EMA in Bibb County. He said carving got him through some stressful days.
"You're always thinking what if something would happen, and it's not just a hurricane or tornado, it's if our water treatment plant goes out," Druitt said. "And actually going through the process of carving different layers in your carving is actually helping you process the same thing in your daily life."
Ever since Druitt came to Macon, he's been working with the Tubman Museum on some pretty big projects.
One day he brought a couple of his carvings down and the folks at the Tubman were so impressed they said, 'hey we're going to give you your own show.'
He's got 25 pieces in the show but there is one that's his favorite.
"The Marvin Gaye album cover, it's called what's going on, and I want you is the album, and the sugar shack was so much fun because people were moving around and they were dancing," Druitt said.
Druitt has never sold one of his creations.
The pieces take at least three months to make.
But for a guy who served the public, this is a chance to bask in a little public glory.
"For me it's just a life long dream to have my work shared with a lot of people," Druitt said.
The show opens Friday, July 13, and runs through September 8 at the Tubman Museum.
The Tubman is located at 310 Cherry Street.