Jim Kearns Woodworking and Art

06/17/2026

“Origin of Life”

***Available at Western Stars Gallery in Lyons, CO***

27”H x 8”W x 1”D

Salvaged wood mosaic glued to backing board. Finished with polyurethane, linseed oil, mineral spirits, and polished with bees wax mixture.
Western Stars Gallery

06/15/2026

“The Static Traveler”

***Currently on display at the Lyons, CO Library along with numerous other of my pieces as part of the dual show, Reconstructing Perspectives. The show runs through July 14.***

27”H x 25”W x 1”D, 2026

Salvaged wood mosaic glued to birch plywood. Finished with polyurethane, linseed oil, mineral spirits, and polished with bees wax mixture.
 
This piece asks a question about the nature of movement. Does the mind and body physically travel through the world, or is the world simply a series of experiences passing through a still awareness?
 
While this form appears to slither across separate domains of texture and grain, it serves as a prompt to consider the relationship between the traveler and the path. If awareness is the only constant, perhaps we aren’t moving through space and time at all. Perhaps space and time are moving through us.

06/08/2026

I’m very happy to have my piece, The Unknowing, included in The Unknown at , and I’m looking forward to both the opening reception and artist talk.

This piece began when a woodworker in Pennsylvania contacted me and asked if I wanted some of his heart pine scraps containing the pith. I immediately saw the potential in them, and he mailed me a box from across the country. The resulting forms suggested unique, face-like entities that seemed to emerge naturally from the wood itself.

It’s a perfect fit for this exhibition. To me, the piece reflects consciousness’s ability to know itself while paradoxically allowing the ego to soften enough to be at peace with not knowing.

From The Lab on Santa Fe:

Every exhibition is a chance to go further than the last. THE UNKNOWN is a national exhibition co-curated by , working toward our ultimate high-wire act: Can we weave the head, heart, and gut into a single show? Spirituality, existentialism, doubt, faith… can we fall in love with the mystery and the challenge that The Unknown invites us into?

Join us for the Opening Reception this Friday, June 12, from 6:30–8:30 pm.

Also mark your calendar for our Artist Talk on Sunday, June 28, from 1–3 pm.

06/06/2026

Go check out this salvaged wood mosaic, “Performing Contentment”, at the Lyons CO Library among many other of my pieces in the dual show “Reconstructing Perspectives”. The show is up until July 14. You can also read a review of the show by DARIA Art Magazine at www.dariamag.com as the show was recently featured.

05/30/2026

Advanced Designs, Primate Minds

Salvaged Wood Mosaic

33 x 26 x 1

2026

Precise modern geometry dissolves into flowing, ancient end-grain patterns. While the salvaged timber spans centuries of material time, the primate faces in the vertical element represent our unchanged inner human condition. We are stuck in the friction between technological progress and primal nature.

This was one of the more uncertain pieces I have done in regards to composition. I rearranged these tiles over and over, finally saying enough and just landed with this. The 3 modern looking long grain box designs were a last minute decision. I’m very happy with the way it turned out, sometimes you just have to let go and fall into what is.

05/28/2026

Yesterday I underwent a somewhat unexpected minimally invasive back surgery. If all goes well, recovery will take about six weeks, which means I’ll be away from the studio and taking a break from building my abstract wood mosaics.

Rather than sitting still, I’m going to use this time to explore some lighter mediums such as alcohol markers, a favorite from my childhood.

My goal is to create one small simple creation every day during recovery. I’ll be sharing them in my Stories and saving everything in a Highlight called “Back Recovery.”

The series will conclude with two fan art posters inspired by festivals I’ll be attending this summer: Field of Vision and Phish’s annual Dick’s Sporting Goods Park run. Music has always been a huge influence on my work.

This is a little outside my comfort zone and definitely a vulnerable experiment, but I’m excited to have some fun, learn something new, and see where it leads. I may even explore a few other mediums along the way.

Thanks for following along. I appreciate all of you and can’t wait to get back to making funky wood mosaics.

05/27/2026

The Rumination Reel
16 x 30 x 1
Salvaged wood mosaic
2026

In this intuitive abstract piece a tilted film reel scans for flaws. It ignores the good to obsess over past encounters. Columns of high energy electric eyes won’t stop looking. There still is space beyond the repetitive film. By giving the rumination reel objective qualities separate from the witness consciousness, it can be asked to step aside and stop covering up the calm space.

This piece experiments with color. The green lines that appear give a feeling of flowing electrical waves or even strands of dna. Before the imperfect boards were cut into mosaic tiles they were split in half and re-glued together with a colored mixture. Once cut and matched they formed green the patterns you see.

05/26/2026

DARIA Art Magazine just published a review of our show, “Reconstructing Perspectives,” at the Lyons Community Library!

Here is the link to the article:

https://www.dariamag.com/home/reconstructing-perspectives

If you haven’t had a chance to stop by and check it out yet, the exhibition will be up through July 14.

A library collapses linear timelines and provides a space where many stories can intermingle. This is similar to how Kylee Covili and Jim Kearns approach their materials in their "Reconstructing Perspectives" exhibition at the Lyons Community Library. Using precise construction and unexpec

05/25/2026

Performing Contentment
Salvaged Wood Mosaic Wall Art
26x17x1
2026

In this conceptual contemporary art piece; center eyes from an angry book-matched knot anchor a spread of fearful faces and fake happy masks. Multi-wood chevrons glisten and change shape when passed by, six wavy cedar sections, and dark walnut patterns represent a strategic inner puzzle.

I really had fun laying this one out a process that sometimes presents lots of doubt, but this piece just sort of flowed together. I continue to move away from rigid symmetry and enjoy playing around with compositions that still hold that symmetrical energy with a little more freedom to explore.

05/19/2026

Finishing these salvaged wood mosaics is probably the most rewarding part of the creation process. I have an idea of how the different shades of wood grain will come to life once the finish is applied, but it’s not definite and it is always an exciting event to see what happens. Some wood takes a wild turn and changes appearance, some brighten up, while other species stay relatively the same. Plus the finishing process indicates a piece nearing completion, which in turn I can begin sharing the work which is a completely separate vibe than creating but equally as important in learning about myself and others.

This piece will receive another 2-3 coats and more sanding to assure the wood is sealed well and the look is uniform. I use a mixture of polyurethane, mineral spirits and linseed oil to create the sheen, color and absorption I’m looking for.