About Madera Bowls
Artist Statement
While our world and our lives are filled with many beautiful objects, man-made and natural, from a myriad of materials, graceful, rough-hewn, elegant, dramatic or simple; it has most often been objects of wood that have captured my attention and imagination, and I have spent a life-time working with wood in many applications and methods. I believe I was drawn to the art of wood turning because of the organic, sustaining and renewable quality of the wood itself. That, and the simple warm beauty of each and every piece of wood.
For all of Human history, wood has been used in vessel and bowl form to store, carry and serve the food that sustains and renews our lives. It is this organic cycle that I'm seeking in the bowls and vessels I create in my shop.
Although I love the graceful lines and swirling patterns of bowls made from a single piece of wood, I chose to work with segmentation for a number of reasons. Wood is a precious resource, and even though it is renewable, we continue to use wood more swiftly than it is renewed. Segmentation often allows me to use wood that might be discarded otherwise. I feel that segmentation helps represent the multiplicity of the organic cycle. It takes many pieces to form the whole object. Finally, segmentation allows me to express a connection with all the cultural history of the world as seen through bowls and vessels.
For all of Human history, wood has been used in vessel and bowl form to store, carry and serve the food that sustains and renews our lives. It is this organic cycle that I'm seeking in the bowls and vessels I create in my shop.
Although I love the graceful lines and swirling patterns of bowls made from a single piece of wood, I chose to work with segmentation for a number of reasons. Wood is a precious resource, and even though it is renewable, we continue to use wood more swiftly than it is renewed. Segmentation often allows me to use wood that might be discarded otherwise. I feel that segmentation helps represent the multiplicity of the organic cycle. It takes many pieces to form the whole object. Finally, segmentation allows me to express a connection with all the cultural history of the world as seen through bowls and vessels.