Jon Brooks – Wood, Whimsy and Re-birth  A man who carved a
career out of wood now rises from the ashes of disaster with an
important show of his work, beginning this month at the Currier
Museum of Art.When a fire destroyed New Hampshire native Jon
Brooks' studio last winter, it robbed him of his tools, many of
his works of art and, for a few desperate moments, his sense of
purpose. Now the artist's first museum retrospective this month
looks back on his long career and highlights his courageous
comeback.Just over a year ago, on a snowy night in mid-January,
Jon Brooks finished putting the last coat of paint on a piece
for a new client, but before he left it to dry overnight he shut
off his air compressor and turned down the wood stove. The New
Boston-based wood sculptor and art furniture maker's workspace
was basically a tinderbox and a fire was his darkest fear. He
checked both safety measures again and trudged through fresh
snow up the hill to his home just a few hundred yards away.In
the middle of that nig