BARE Walls
Lafayette, Louisiana
BARE Walls is an art subscription program that connects local artists with Businesses in the Acadiana area.
Messagei began my woodworking and woodturning journey standing beside my father as a very young man. And as so many of my generation, i turned my first bowl as part of shop class in junior high school.
I spent my college years and many after that designing and building scenery for the theatre, eventually working professionally in the theater. In 1987 i came back to woodturning with a newly trained and developed eye for the aesthetic and a passion to create objects on the lathe-- from practical bowl forms to art pieces that serve to express my artistʼs voice.
Watching long curls of green wood fly off a spinning form produces a state of harmony that forms a bond between the turner and the piece. To the sense of touch, a finished piece is very satisfying, and the beautiful grain and natural markings are enhanced by the shape of the piece. I have learned many woodturning techniques and used a wide variety of tools over the years that have allowed me to experiment with wood while allowing its natural state to emerge.
I feel strongly about using domestic american wood. I make it a practice to use wood that i have collected and dried. The destruction of a natural storm is a horrible thing to happen, but to reclaim wood that can be made into something pleasing and beautiful offers some consolation. Iʼve been told that owning such a piece can bring back memories at the mere touch.
For the past few years i have really enjoyed making spheres. In the beginning it was enjoyable to take a finished sphere in oneʼs hands and feel the smooth, continuous round surface. I have since come to understand that the sphere is a perfect form as it reflects so many things in nature.
I am a member of the american association of woodturners, the founding president of the michigan/ohio woodturners, and member and past president of the acadiana woodturners. I also belong to the louisiana crafts guild and lafayette art association.
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