You're Invited: November 2015 First Friday Artwalk

Halloween is almost here and Thanksgiving is around the corner, so it must be time to wander into downtown Winslow and enjoy looking at beautiful things - for yourself, your home, and all those deserving folks on your gift lists.  This First Friday Artwalk here at the Gallery will be a wood extravaganza that you don't want to miss.  AND we're having a BIG SALE!  Read on for the details:

Wood Odysseys

November 6 –29, 2015

Reception with the Artists:

First Friday, November 6, 6-8 pm

Thoughtful and exciting works to enliven your home or work environment

from Northwest artists

Sean Carleton, Nathan Christopher, L. Wendy Dunder, Carol Fiedler Kawaguchi, David Kellum

Carl Larson, John Luke, Ted Scherrer, Donald Smith, Dave Thompson, Tiplin Taylor

Scott Trumbo and Alan Vogel

Also Announcing:

In conjunction with the Wood Odysseys Exhibition:

ON SALE NOW

Existing Inventory of Wood Slabs, Wall Sculptures, Benches, Desks

MAJOR REDUCTIONS FROM 25-50%

About Our Newest Wood Artists:

Sean Carleton was 15 when his father introduced him to welding, and he was immediately hooked.  He traveled to Australia to build a house with Habitat for Humanity, then enrolled at Western Washington University with hopes of pursuing a future in renewable energy vehicles. But it was while working as a hardwood flooring sander and finisher that he began a serious pursuit of welding and metallurgy, attending Lake Washington Technical College and eventually working as a welder in Ballard.  From there he began crafting fine furniture.  Here is something about his process and philosophy, in his own words:

When I build with my hands I feel happy and fulfilled. I like to create the designs in my

head first, then physically manifest them. While working in my shop I feel freedom. … I push myself, improve, push boundaries, chase new technology and new possibilities for a clean energy future surrounding the Solar Energy Movement. I want to challenge the art form, and make my mark.

Architecture, the balance of weight, and ideas for the future all inspire my work. Each

morning I wake I find inspiration in my shop with complex textures, material shape and my fierce inner drive. Music maintains my focus and allows my mind to fluently flow through physical fluid geometric shapes. Industrial environments in which I spent my young life have left a indelible mark. Appreciation of equipment, tools, techniques, and materials is my type of fun.

Objects are cheap, quality is low, and people are tired. My work signifies lasting quality

and integrity. I want my work to be a symbol that people can rely on in times of despair and

remember that a dreamer existed and fought until the end for what they believed in.

Each piece is cut, de-burred, tacked together, TIG (tungsten inert gas) welded, sanded,

finished and assembled by hand. With complete control of quality and function I am able to

achieve new ideas and forms of movement.

Finishing metal and wood by hand is my specialty. I work with patinas as well as clear finishes to ensure a long life. I use a progressive, environmentally friendly two-part hardened oil to protect my woodwork in a thin application. This process reveals the natural beauty and texture of the wood beneath.

David Kellum of Port Townsend, Washington designs and builds residential and commercial wood furniture that allow him to join together his creative and technical abilities.  David creates graceful, contemporary pieces that highlight the natural beauty of the wood and make the most of a valuable natural resource, providing lasting beauty and utility.

Carol Fiedler Kawaguchi of Bainbridge Island combines her talents as a fine artist with her skills as a fine woodworker specializing in Antique Restoration and Repair, unique Fine Wood Furnishings and Fine Art Assemblages. Ms. Fiedler Kawaguchi attended Cornish Art Institute in 1978 and ‘79 and received a degree in fine art from Western Washington University in 1981 with a focus on Japanese Art History and Printmaking. She apprenticed to a violinmaker and a ceramicist during the 1980s while living in New Mexico where she opened her first woodworking and interior furnishings business. She has traveled extensively in Europe and Asia. She has worked as an artist and woodworker for the past 25 years and now makes her home in Washington.

About Our Fine Woodworkers:

Nathan Christopher’s work merges sustainability and functionality with the aesthetics of unique and artful design.  With a degree in Natural Resource Management from Oregon State University, Nathan places a huge emphasis on timeless elements created by nature.

Each piece is conceived and crafted according to the history, nuance and texture of the reclaimed wood used.  Nathan creates furniture and sculpture with character.

A talented multi-disciplinary artist, L. Wendy Dunder of Portland, Oregon, returns to her first artistic love with  her amazing illuminated paper and wood sculptures.   Wendy says, “Once again it is light I crave.  The lamps I create are sculptures with a purpose. They are made of wood strips cut thin on the table saw, bent into shape and held with hoops and clothespins, as each strip is glued in place. It takes a long time because glue joints must dry before more are added. When the shape is complete, the skin of small pieces of tissue paper are painted on with diluted white glue. About 10 layers with attendant drying time make a surprisingly tough translucent skin.”

With over 25 years of experience in fine woodworking, Carl Larson has built hundreds of one-of-a-kind pieces, from custom cabinetry and architectural elements such as staircases, doors and mantles to custom hand-built furniture at his North Kitsap studio.   In particular, his lamps are created from exotic hardwoods with special shades made from bark and vintage electrical components.

Fine furniture maker John Luke began woodworking as a part-time avocation three decades ago. After stress-related illness forced an early retirement, Luke began designing and building furniture 24/7.   Clean, simple lines with a perfect balance of form and function best characterize Luke’s designs. Table, dresser or chair, Luke uses exposed joinery techniques and gives meticulous attention to detail and fine craftsmanship. He finishes each piece with low luster varnish or lacquer for maximum durability.

Ted Scherrer’s hand-crafted furniture is inspired by the American Arts and Crafts movement. In response to the superficial decor of the Victorian Age, this turn of the century movement sought to establish a new aesthetic based on the beauty of natural materials combined with handcraft to produce designs of simple lines and high integrity:  This furniture is built to last.   Says Ted, “My pieces are meant to be heirlooms.  Exposed mortise and tenons and doweling demonstrates structural integrity; the joinery in fact becomes the decoration. Arts and Crafts is much more than a style, it represents a fundamental design reform and is a reflection of a historical ideology.”

Donald Smith of Seattle specializes in furniture using salvaged wood from urban trees. Besides utilizing materials that would otherwise go to waste, the urban trees used are typically older and larger than their farmed cousins and grow in more interesting ways in the open than they do in the forest. They develop unique shapes and curves and unusually beautiful patterns, or “figure,” as well as other markings that tell the history of the tree. Most of the wood he uses is from hardwood trees found in and around Seattle, with walnut, madrone, elm and maple being the most popular.

Dave Thompson of Seattle is well known for his exquisite bowls and accessories, with walnut, sycamore, elm and maple woods predominating in his popular designs.

Tiplin Taylor brings us wonderful bent-wood utensils crafted from exotic woods.

Scott Trumbo generally uses premium native west coast woods in his beautiful bowls, with big leaf maple and big leaf maple burl being the dominant woods he works with.  He also turns myrtlewood, pacific madrone, coastal redwood burl, red alder, claro walnut, sycamore, the fruitwoods, and some imported exotics.  He lives and works in western Oregon.

Alan Vogel of Bainbridge Island, while known for his reclaimed fir dining tables, also fashions more artistic live edge pieces from figured and spalted slabs of maple, alder, cherry and redwood, among other woods. Each of these pieces display a uniqueness that emphasize the natural shape and characteristics of the wood.