"I enjoy creating turned wood objects and then enhancing them by manipulating their surfaces. This manipulation may involve carving or incising lines to create patterns or textures and may also include coloring with dyes, inks, and paints. While I prefer to use local woods such as big leaf maple and cherry, my pieces often include small amounts of imported wood for decorative features such as the collars on hollow vessels."

Art has several series of turnings. Shown below are some samples, but his Web site has many more examples. Click on the link at the bottom of the page to visit him online. Most of his pieces are for sale.

During 2003, Art participated in a juried Exhibition called "Put a Lid On It" at the Brand Library and Gallery in Glendale, CA,.He also was invited to participate in the "Fifth Contemporary Wood Invitational" at the American Art Company in Tacoma, Washington, and his work appeared in the book "Wood Art Today: Furniture, Vessels, and Sculpture" by Dona Z. Meilach (Schiffer Publishing, 2003).

He demonstrated at the 17th Annual American Association of Woodturners Symposium in Pasadena, CA, during 2003.

The new year has already brought an invitation to participate in "Beneath the Bark Ð 25 Years of Woodturning" at Brigham Young University Museum of Art in Provo, Utah, and "Turned Wood Ð Small Treasures" at the del Mano Gallery in Los Angeles, California. And his work will appear in "500 Wooden Bowls" (Lark Publishing, 2004). Art also will give demonstrations at the 25th Annual Utah Woodturning Symposium in Provo.

VOX
Each member of the Vox series is a hidden box that looks like one of my hollow vessels when closed. The lid is hollow (but has a 'floor'). Small magnets are used to hold the lid to the body.

Vox shown at right was made for the Northwest Fine Woodworking Box and Container Show in 2002, from big leaf maple and ebony.
3-1/2" tall and 3-1/2" in diameter.
n the private collection of Jody Sahlin.

PUZZLING ILLUSIONS
My puzzling illusion vessels are simple, classically shaped vessels topped with collars made of a contrasting wood. The incised outlines of jigsaw puzzle pieces break up each vessel's surface, interacting with the wood's natural figure and grain. These familiar interlocking puzzle shapes are instantly recognizable and we are used to seeing surfaces interrupted in this fashion. Thus, we can either focus on the outlines or ignore them to concentrate on the figure of the wood. The surface of each vessel is incomplete with pieces "missing" from the puzzle. The resulting holes are reminiscent of the natural voids left in many woodturnings, but their puzzle shape is decidedly non-natural. These holes allow a glimpse of the inside of the vessel. More importantly, though, they reveal the thickness of the vessel's walls. The wall thickness is appropriate for a jigsaw puzzle, enhancing the illusion that the vessel is composed of individual puzzle pieces. The incomplete vessel appears to be caught in the process of being assembled or, perhaps, disassembled. A few loose pieces included with the vessel further enhance the illusion of the interrupted process. These loose pieces are not intended to fit the holes, but merely to add to the illusion. The vessel is a vessel, not a puzzle. While it is technically possible to create a functional 3-dimensional jigsaw puzzle from a single piece of wood, I feel that the illusion is more intriguing than a functional puzzle. In addition to vessels, I have begun to decorate the surfaces of other turnings with the puzzling illusion.

BURNING FIELDS
The burning fields series features a surface divided into regions. The lines outlining the regions are relatively smooth, but the individual regions are roughly textured. The two textures are also treated with different colors.

Shown at right:
Burning Fields Series 2
B ig leaf maple and redheart.
4" tall by 3-1/4" diameter.

This is the first piece in the series. The words encoded are "But Is It Art". in the private collection of Janis Horne The pieces in this series include figures of "dancing men" as described in the Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Dancing Men." These figures are a simple substitution code with each figure representing a letter of the alphabet. Each of the pieces is titled to reflect the contents of the message encoded on the piece. In some cases, the title is the same as the message, but in others the title just gives a hint to the message

Shown at left:
But Is It Art?
B ig leaf maple and ebony
8-1/2" tall by 5-1/4" diameter.