Wood has inspired artists for centuries to make creative sculptures and dimensional forms, decorations as well as utilitarian pieces. Since the beginning of human experience trees have been venerated in cultures and mythologies and inspired wooden carved or sculpted objects of great beauty and meaning.
The art objects in this exhibit will explore how the craft of hand turning or carving wood can be used to create works of art. To be a work of art, the wood creations must be one-of-a-kind, original expressions of the maker’s creativity and feelings; they must demonstrate technical skill, imagination, aesthetic judgment, and attention to detail so as to achieve the fullest expression of wood as a medium.
Participating artists include Barney Bellinger, Patrick Kana, Rachel Lamb, Tom Slocum, Matt Tommey. Micheal Trivieri, and Amy Wendland.
Barney Bellinger
Barney Bellinger is a painter, sculptor, photographer and furniture designer. Barney’s work has evolved many times over the years, from customized motorcycles and cars to carved gold leaf signs to organic furniture built with natural materials from the forest. Barney is a self-taught artist, gaining his knowledge from books, inherited wisdom and immersing himself in the beauty of the Adirondacks. He has been exploring forests since he was 4 years old, when his grandfather would take him into the wilderness and teach him about trees and forest lore. These trips instilled in him a lifelong love for the outdoors.elaboratecarving and gold leaf application. He relies on his photography as a tool to learn about composition and setting a scene with his paintings. The result: decades of eminence in his field and a vastly diverse body of work.
Patrick Kana
I have developed a very specific way of working with wood materials which always begins at its source. I mainly seek out wood that is rejected for one reason or another, and put it to use as a primary, precious material.
Patrick Kana is a furniture designer born and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Having been trained by traditional furniture makers, sculptors, and contemporary designers, both stateside and overseas, he creates furniture and objects that blends sculptural form with honest, traditional methods.
Rachel Lamb
Feeling a deep connection and appreciation for nature, much of Rachel’s inspiration stems from the Adirondack region’s intrinsic beauty. She also enjoys creating abstract pieces that flow from within her without much planning as they give her the freedom to directly express her imagination.
Rachel grew up in Chazy, NY and studied studio art at St. Lawrence University. She first used chisels to carve a relief form while participating in an woodworking course in 2001.
Thomas Slocum
I approach wood with a basic design in mind, but take direction from what the wood has to offer through its grain and structural characteristics. The outcome can be srprising and I believe the objet reflects that sense of wonder.
I have been a woodworker since I was 12. For the past four years I have found wood sculpting to be most interesting and a creative outlet since I retired from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Matt Tommey
My handcrafted baskets are a whimsical collaboration of traditional weaving techniques, vines, bark and recycled metal. Since the early 1990’s, my interpretation has offered a heartfelt nod to my roots in Appalachian basketry while offering a contemporary expression that is all my own.
Matt Tommey is a world-class sculptor working in Asheville, North Carolina’s River Arts District. Since the mid-1990’s, Matt has created nature inspired works using locally harvested materials including bark, vines and branches. His work is featured in some of the most beautiful homes around the country.
Amy Wendland
I work with things that were once living: wood, bone, hair, dried plants. Combining disparate materials, I seek to create pieces that look like they evolved spontaneously. The art is intended to attract and disquiet, to amuse and discomfit. Many cultures attribute spiritual powers to trees.
Amy K. Wendland received her BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and worked commercially as an artist and designer, with projects ranging from book covers and logo design to advertisements and museum exhibit drawings. After a decade of freelancing, Ms. Wendland returned to school, earning an MA in Sculpture and an MFA in Graphics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Ms. Wendland now lives and works in Durango, Colorado where she serves as a Professor in the Art & Design Department at Fort Lewis College. Her artwork typically utilizes a combination of humor, offbeat materials and obsessive craft.
Michael Trivieri
Michael Trivieri is an artist completely in tune with his media, throughout his life he has always had the need to create. Trivieri began life as a logger, from which developed an obsession with creating in wood. He is is a self taught and has been an artist for over 20 years. Whether carving a burl into a bowl, shaping milled pieces into highly detailed relief scenes, filled with denizens of the Adirondacks, creating furniture or carving works in the round he is consistently maintaining a dialogue in the marks he makes onto his material. In his work grain becomes water or clouds, a small crack becomes a leading line through the composition, or the undulations of a burl determine its final rendering as a bowl. All of his work is 100% hand carved.
