When you are an artist and your primary media is wood, thousands of images can come to mind. Vessels, carvings, sculptures, and other types of decorative art can make an impressive statement when natural wood is the blank sheet. Working with wood can be delightful to your sense of touch and smell. These artists enjoy the earthy, natural, and soothing atmosphere of their chosen media and are mastering the trade.
Wood Turning began between 500 and 1500 A.D., turned wooden vessels served as the everyday bowls and cups in Europe. Even before then, turning on a lathe has been dated back to Egypt in 1300 B.C. Woodturning became a skill that molded wood through learned techniques to form different scales and designs.
Parting, planing, bead, cove, and hollowing were a few of the terms used to describe the delicate maneuvering of turning tools. As time went on, objects such as gavels, darning eggs, boxes trays, candlesticks, lamps, and legs for furniture were perfected for a host of residential and commercial uses.
Today, woodturning still resembles that of the 1400s in Europe. Turning wood as an art form took place in 1480 A.D. as Leonardo Da Vinci made this breakthrough. Beautiful examples of natural and exotic woods are a treasure to display as authentic pieces of the craft.
Bob Hart of Fort Recovery, Ohio specialty is turned bowls of a variety of shapes and sizes. He has created over 1600 wooden art projects.
Recent wood art by Ralph Stuckman was created using a nonfunctional method. He chose cedar because the smell adds to this art form, which this turning included tooled indents into the wood as circular rounds, and a wire was placed into these dents to burn, producing black marks adding to this art form.
Wood Carving is a form of woodworking that has represented many traditions of countries. The oldest wood-carved sculpture, the Shigir Idol carved from larch, is around 12,000 years old. China and Africa still honor carvings in certain ceremonies.
Noted as the queen of wood craving, Louise Nevelson, born 1899 in Ukraine to a Jewish family, moved to New York to study art. She took up wood carving and became known for creating works using painted pieces of wood. Her work often depicted femininity and relationships like Dawn’s Wedding Feast. She drew inspiration from the trauma in her life, which was her source of creativity.
The tools are different than those of woodturning. Make to cause gouges and chips, the artist moves with the grain of the wood to create an equally strong indentation on all sides. Basswood and tupelo are popular hardwoods for wood carving. “Grandpa’s Shoe” by Pat Rayman was craved using walnut wood and her wood burn (5 feet by 5 inches) was using a soft pine.
Woodblock printing originated in China in 220 AD. The idea changed the way that scrolls were used and started the evolution of paper. With printed woodblocks, mass production, of sorts was possible for distributing books. Art in books was even possible by using textiles and dyes that made books more interesting. The wood ink block print, “Grain Stacks” (7 x 5 inches) is by Doug Fiely.
Wood burning is a great way to develop your artistic skills. Burning designs into the wood by practicing pyrography, can create almost anything your heart desires. “The Courtship” (5 feet by 5 inches) by Pat Rayman is part of a burned pair. Those with a good imagination and learning the basics of the trade can become unique and skilled artists in not only wood-burning but other media, as well.
Raw and mysterious, wood continues to fascinate artists with its intriguing natural presence.
