by matt miller
Photography by danny gilleland
John Buckner on the front porch with three pieces of his furniture with his dog Oliver.
Past Perfect
Law student's woodworking skills preserve history while creating handcrafted beauty
For most third-year law school students, thoughts
of homework, bar exams and job prospects are
enough to keep them occupied. But John Buckner
needed something more tangible.
"That's how I work. That's how my mind works,"
the soon-to-be-lawyer said while running his hand
along the varnished edge of a pine farm table
that he meticulously built by hand. "If I don't have
a creation at the end of my work - (something)
physical and tangible - then I don't feel like I've
done anything."
48 l Macon Magazine
He spoke while sitting at his prototype farm
table on the front porch of the Walnut Street
house he shares with a fellow Mercer law student.
Buckner scrolled through images of his work on
his IPhone, tracing the development of his nascent
woodworking career while brushing his stylishly
tussled hair from his eyes.
"It's funny, all of this started during my first year
of law school, which can be the hardest year of your
life," he said. "I found that it was helpful. Because
for me - and anyone else who goes to law school -
april/MAy 2013
