Art of Wood

Most art works of wood are three-dimensional which implies statues, but wooden art is much more than that. Wooden furniture is useful and some can easily be pieces of art. Jack Richardson whittles away a majority of the wood in his statues and Ray Rountree's lathe removes much of the wood to form his vases, plates, etc. The grape vine furniture of Sierrarts is surely useful and artistic.

In today's culture wood is generally considered a useful material for building houses and we have forgotten the beauty of hardwoods that were so appreciated in the centuries in which wood was not displaced by synthetic materials. But appreciation of the beauty of wood grain and natural wood color is carried on by artist creating art from wood. They are challenged to find material for their art as beautiful woods common years ago become more and more scarce. After finding an appropriate piece of wood the artist must see the effects of the grain as it twists and turns replicating the shape of the place it had in the living tree or vine. To visualize the shapes in wood is surely harder than visualizing shapes in a piece of marble, a relatively uniform solid. Add to that difficulty is the decision whether or not to incorporate the color and texture of bark in the finished piece.

The products of this knowledge and artistry are well worth seeing, and perhaps seeing in your home.