My fascination with the many properties of wood began when I was a child growing up in Southern Virginia.
I now work using a custom built Nichols lathe and specific tools for the different stages of turning: bark removal, shaping and hollowing. Ecological sensibility prevents my harvesting living trees solely for the purpose of turning vessels. However, once a blank of wood is selected and experience has helped me see inside, I begin the process of unlocking the beauty within.
Some of my vessels are classical forms with finely finished surfaces. Others have hand carved, textured or pigmented surfaces. My latest series is called ‘hammered wood.’
I often think of my ancestors when I carve or embellish the surface of a piece. While Sub-Saharan Africans were master carvers, the Egyptians in North Africa gave to the world, in the third century BC, the process of turning wood using a lathe.
I am happiest when creating from found woods that feature irregular grain pattern, knots, burls or voids, such that the finished work provokes a different commentary.
Enjoy warm, wonderful, wood.
