Craft Show Artists 2010

David C. Earle — Vashon, WA   |   davidturnswood.com

Shaping green (wet) wood on a lathe is invigorating, messy, and lots of fun. Creating bowls this way is unpredictable, but often gives the work more character. Once they are dry, I gently sand them to a flawless surface, and finish with walnut oil. This reveals the story of the tree, recorded permanently in the grain. I love knowing that 100 years from now, many of my bowls, scoops, and other kitchen utensils will still be in daily use.

Reese Gaertner — Northfield, MN   |   reesegaertner.com

I create wooden objects, and this work allows me to creatively explore my two greatest interests: nature and artifacts. Woodworking provides the perfect means for combining these interests. Wood wears its age well. The grain and color of a piece of wood are the result of many years growing out in the natural world. As a wooden object ages, it takes on a record of nicks and stains, and develops a warm patina. Because of this visible history, I particularly enjoy working with wooden artifacts such as used industrial bobbins, old barrels, furniture parts, and salvaged architectural elements. Frequently, I also add other found objects such as old maps, antique encyclopedia pages, and vintage hardware. Most of the finishes I use are based on shellac, a natural resin that has been used for centuries and widely considered the most beautiful way to enhance and protect wood. Using natural materials and traditional techniques, I work to make creative pieces of lasting beauty.

Sean M. Gillespie — Denver, CO   |   fineartwoodworking.com

I love everything about wood; from the distinct qualities of each species to the way it smells when it is carved. My designs feature the innate beauty of wood. Its surprising grain and color variation gives me an inexhaustible source of inspiration. I get my ideas from architectural details, landscapes, people, and music. I take the world around me, break it into raw graphic elements and capture that expression in fine and exotic hardwoods. Each piece of wood is chosen for its singular character, grain, and color. The work is composed with the lathe, steel, torches, pigment and unconventional use of traditional woodworking tools. I use my carving tools like a painter uses a brush. Gestures and strokes create pattern and form. People might think of wood as tough and solid; actually, it is a living medium, one that moves with the seasons, and the grain is very responsive. The wood records the movement of my hands, capturing the moment of creation.

Janel N. Jacobson — Harris, MN   |   janeljacobson.com

I carve small-scale, palm-sized sculptures, by hand from very hard woods. Some pieces have inlay of other materials such as amber, mammoth tusk ivory, horn and antler. The natural world around my home is the resource for my subjects and compositions. Such pieces, to be viewed and handled by the observer, provide a quiet, contemplative atmosphere; one that would encourage and enable an intimate, emotional connection with memories or experiences in the mind of the observer. In 2009, I learned to use a lathe. The small turned pieces provide a new dimension for carving upon. Some small, round forms are made into netsuke, which are small toggles that were used in pre-westernized Japan to suspend a pouch or container from the traditional kimono and obi.

Ray Jones — Asheville, NC   |   rayjoneswoodboxes.com

I make boxes entirely of wood. This includes the hinges, fasteners, latches and drawer slides. Many of my boxes consist of multiple turned components that are joined and sculpted. The plywoods used are made in my shop from layers of veneer.

Souphom Manikhong — Sacramento, CA   |   contempwoodart.org

The unique artistry is based on my own perception of nature. Using the talents as both an artist and craftsman I strive to create something extraordinary. Each of my pieces are created from the various exotic Rosewoods. Ebonies and Burls of my native Laos. In each of my creations the inspiration of nature, a leaf blown by the wind or a single flower can be seen. Through recognizing and following the natural flow of the of the wood I am able to use the combined methods of turning, carving, sculpting, and sanding to shape the various pieces of naturally fallen timber: trunk, roots and branch unions. The essence of the wood, both color and texture, is brought out in the lustrous veneer, a result of several coats of tung oil applied, and covered with renaissance wax, rubbed and buffed by hand.

Don R. Miller — Philadelphia, PA   |   drmstudio.com

Relationships with the world of objects continually advance and recede as our bodies navigate physical space. As we sense these interactions, patterns emerge that identify objects of use as extensions of the mechanical body. This fundamental identification underpins the concept of function. The human body senses purpose on a level deeper than these specifics of use. Our perceptions of scale, spatial orientation, materiality and manufacture are foundations for the identities that we project upon functional objects. What is the language with which we as active subjects project these identities upon objects in our environment? My current work investigates the origins of this identification between the body and everyday objects. Each affords a distinct vantage point from which to regard the interrelatedness of the subject and object. This dialectic of subject and object, of user and useful, is an essential way we manifest our world - as both experience and metaphor.

Michael D. Mode — New Haven, VT   |   michaelmode.com

I use traditional and self generated lathe & lamination techniques to create both classical bowl forms decorated with colorful geometric surface designs as well as interactive sculptures done in graduated multiples to mimic natural growth processes and living forms. The two trends both parallel and intersect with each other in my work in an ongoing evolution.

George P. Peterson — Lake Toxaway, NC   |   circlefactory.com

For me, the adventure and challenge of sculpting lies in focusing on the natural tension and drama I find in the wood, and in contrasting and complimenting that drama with my expressive mark as an artist. I channel a lot of destructive energy into my art. The pieces are formed from whole logs using chainsaws, hammers, chisels, fire axes, ...anything. I aim to create layers of machined and natural surfaces. The raw sculptures are then placed in a kiln to stabilize. Often, during the drying process, the tension in the wood will cause a piece to warp and crack giving the forms an element of spontaneity that I could never contrive. After the wood is dry, I then refine each piece through careful and deliberate study. I paint, polish, trim, sew, join and repeat, if necessary, until the work is resolved.

Peter M. Petrochko — Oxford, CT   |   peterpetrochko.com

My sculptural wood vessels are constructed by using laminating, band sawing, hand carving and disk sanding techniques.

Norm Sartorius — Parkersburg, WV   |   normsartorius.com

Spoon is a category, similar to bowl, plate, or teapot. Within each category are infinite varieties of form, size, texture, abstraction, color, and emotion. We understand this shape, (the spoon); it has a rich inherent symbolism though which the most ordinary aspects of our life are transfigured into something timeless. My goal is to explore that reservoir and carve sculptures that people will view as treasured objects. My spoons are sculptures and my sculptures are spoons. Public collections such as the Carnegie Museum of Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Renwick Gallery, the Yale Art Gallery, and the Museum of Fine Art Houston have added my carvings to their permanent collections.

Mike Shuler — Santa Cruz, CA   |   mikeshuler.com

The open vessel form expresses the aesthetic of my work. These forms are grouped in two parts. One is 'segmented' and the other is 'organica'. All are lathe-turned vessels. The segmented vessels are made of hundreds or thousands of slender precisely cut mostly exotic hardwoods which form intense and intricate patterns. No paints, pigments or stains of any kind are used, except in the maple bowls where the glue is tinted red. Otherwise, all colors are the natural color of the species. The organica are vessels formed from natural objects such as pinecones, blossoms, artichokes and other vegetative forms. The vessel is created through a subtractive process involving resin saturation and the lathe to reveal a beauty within the form usually hidden from view.

Holly Tornheim — Nevada City, CA   |   hollytornheim.com

All my pieces are carvings created using both power and hand tools. I utilize solid pieces of wood in their natural color in the designs.

Joel Urruty — Hickory, NC   |   joelurruty.com

Tabletop to large floor standing abstract figurative wood sculptures. Some techniques used besides carving are painting, bleaching, torching, various joinery, lacquer work and concrete casting.

Philip Weber — Effort, PA   |   weberboxes.com

I work with wood, and some metals to highlight and contrast my designs. I incorporate different joinery techniques to achieve a decorative and functional box. My goal is to create a piece that holds in it a history of applied art and regional movements (Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Asian, and Architectural design), and yet is uniquely my own. My work encompasses thirty-four years of experience and inspiration.