His lifelong interest in the beauty and endless variety of wood led him to woodturning in 1995. In 2004 Jim started doing some sculpting on his turnings. By 2005 he started to do 100% sculpted pieces. Much of Jim’s work begins as salvaged wood from construction sites or fallen trees, although he does order exotic wood not locally available. “It’s wonderful to make something functional and beautifu
l out of wood that might otherwise have been dumped in a landfill or burned.” Jim looks for wood with character – an interesting shape, grain pattern or color striations (spalting). “Making use of whatever character the wood may have allows me to enhance the beauty of the finished piece.” This is a key characteristic of his work that helps create the individuality of each piece. Whether a piece is 100% lathe turned or 100% sculpted by hand, or some of each, through a patient finishing process (mostly food-safe tung oil) it will be silky smooth!
