Wood

When the Gallery asked me to put together a short Bio for use on their website I was stumped! So, I fell back on my thirty-year background in Advertising Sales…just start writing, it will come together.

Wood and I have been joined at the hip since I was old enough to play with sharp objects. Though I love all genres of art and have dabbled in several, I keep migrating back to making sawdust and hoping there is something left when I’m finished. It's the sculptor’s mentality, remove whatever doesn’t look like it belongs!

I consider myself self-taught, though I would be remiss not to honor several “Old Timers” in my life, they're all gone now, Richard, Louie, Howard, Leon, Mrs. White and several others. I learned far more than I realized at the time.

My workshop is my “Happy Place”. I love variety. From day to day, I’m a woodturner, a cabinet maker, greenwood craftsman, spoon carver and thanks to my daughter, I fashion a few earrings.

We’re extremely lucky here in NW Wisconsin, blessed with a great selection of hard and softwoods. I use them all, along with recycled wood whenever possible. I can’t tell you a favorite species, sometimes I prefer the billet saved from the campfire. I collect and gather material all the time. My shop is littered with single boards, cut offs and scraps I can’t bear to part with, to be used another day.

A special piece of wood eventually will tell me what it wants to become, other times the creation I have buried in my head will beg for the wood it deserves, all part of the creative process for me.

I am drawn to art of all kinds. We never miss a gallery or open studio when we travel.
Artists have such interesting personalities; I admire all their creations and enjoy being part of that community.

John Reed