Service and Reflection

NORFOLK, VA, UNITED STATES

12.02.2019

Photo by Cpl. Danielle Abshire 

Fleet Marine Force Atlantic, Marine Forces Command, Marine Forces Northern Command

"All the number of years, it’s like a slideshow in your mind. All the deployments, coming back home to your family, seeing the change in your wife and kids. Hearing another Marine tell me their story so I can turn it into my art, helps me stay connected with the Marine Corps and it inspires me and they support my passion. It reassures me and gives my confidence to know that I can do this."

"I don’t want to be what everybody else is and do what everybody else does. I like the challenge of doing my designs, the things that no one else can do or want to do. A lot of mental and physical effort goes into the way I make my designs to tell someone’s story. The depth in a story is how I create my art; I create levels in my art and the more you look the more you read their story. I talk to them about what makes them a Marine and what defines you as an individual and what they want to see. I use what they tell me to design them a custom retirement gift and the meaning behind it and it’s the heart behind it. It’s the you in it, this is your story. And that’s where it all started."

"I design footlockers, chest of drawers, shadow boxes, plaques, gun boxes, antique boxes, and use what they have told me and design it into something simple but elegant out of multiple different kinds of wood. All of my work is hand carved out of wood and most people can’t even tell its wood. And I carve, burn, etch, laser, manipulate, stain, cut, paint, and sand the wood into what I feel tells their story; I also add flags, medals, ribbons, and leather of their service depending on the story."
"I cherish the service of our fellow service members, the fire department, law enforcement, and I do a lot of work for them as well. We put ourselves in harm’s way because others can’t. When I started doing this, I decided to make a run for it and make a career out of it after I retire next summer. You’ve got to take a risk, and you can’t be scared of failing. Be willing to take chances."
(U.S. Marine Corps Illustration by Cpl. Danielle Abshire)

• Date Taken: 12.02.2019
• Date Posted: 02.10.2020 16:33
• Photo ID: 6086820
• VIRIN: 191202-M-HY653-0001
• Resolution: 4162x2775
• Size: 3.98 MB
• Location: NORFOLK, VA, US