I have worked with wood since age 7, when I built a playhouse from crates and re-used nails (with a little of my fathers help). At age 19 I was lucky enough to discover, through my job at a Player Piano factory, that I could use my natural talent for working wood to make a living. This job began my exploration, and encouraged me to follow my passions. I have been a professional woodworker for over 30 years, now. Woodturning is my latest great adventure.
Lidded Containers have fascinated me since I was a child hiding secret treasures. Today, Lidded Vessels are my most creatively stimulating body of work. Professionally, I have built cabinets and furniture, rebuilt airplanes, and made hang gliding equipment. I am now a self-employed artist, working in wood.
My artwork choreographs pure classic form with the natural grain patterns in the wood, creating a sculpture with elegant presence and lively personality.
A jewel hidden inside symbolizes the treasure that life reveals to us when we make the effort to look deeper within.
Making gifts for family and friends was how I got started in my woodturning business. I love to make pieces that are given as gifts. The most rewarding part of making my living as an artist is sharing my creativity by bringing my work into the lives of others. I hope you will enjoy my wood art as much as I have enjoyed the creative process!
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
It is my belief that artists of all kinds express what is meaningful in their lives, and in the world that they live in, through their artwork. Our values, emotions, fears, and delights emerge through the work of our hands. Art is, and historically has always been, a vitally important element of every civilized human society.
Beauty is important to me. I surround myself with the beauty of Nature. I love to work with the most beautiful and precious materials. In my artwork, I express my love of the beauty in our world.
The finely finished interior spaces, and the jewels that I hide inside my pieces, express my feeling that the most precious treasures in life are those that are hidden from view. I like to look on the bright side, seeking out the hidden opportunities that are there for those who make the extra effort to look. Treasures are found in the love of a life-long friend, in "taming" a feral cat, and in the view from the top of a steep mountain climb.
When you invite my artwork into your home, you bring beauty into your life. You create the personal connection that creating and owning artwork gives us. My hand turned, thin-walled hollow Vessels combine clean, precise lines with burl patterns, finishing with a delicate lid, finial, and pedestal hand turned from exotic hardwood. Inside the lid is a gemstone set in 14k gold, reminding us of life's hidden treasures. The result is a sculptural composition with elegant presence and a lively personality.
Shaping a burl is like cutting a gemstone. Careful cutting is required to reveal the best figure and color in the finished vessel.
Accent pieces shaped from separate pieces of African Blackwood, a rosewood with a naturally rich black color, are fitted, and sometimes threaded, onto the vessel.
My brightly colored pieces are shaped from highly figured Maple Burls, and colored with penetrating transparent dyes. This unique coloring process, and the high-gloss finish, give the vessel's surface a 3-dimensional look, like glass or marble.
A delicate balance is achieved between all of the design elements as they work together like an orchestra performing a sculptural symphony.
