Daily Art MuseWood | Daily Art Muse

randall rosenthal: wood sculpture or the real thing?

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:21:30 +0000

As much as my eyes want to believe that these are the real thing, in fact they are sculptures hand carved from a single block of wood and painted.

Van Gogh

Van Gogh, detail

I generally don’t show an artist’s work if their website doesn’t properly support the work but Randall Rosenthall’s work is so good that I broke my own rule. The website doesn’t do the work justice and is a bit difficult to navigate (Randall let me know if you need help with that) but worth the bother to see these detailed, realistic sculptures.

Obama

NY Times

Sweet Memories

Randall Rosenthal’s website
Check out his page of Legal Pad sculptures

mauro fuke: wood in motion

Susan Lomuto — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:43:15 +0000

Part puzzle, part kinetic wonders, part sculpture, all genius. Using mathematical concepts and 3D modeling software to generate his ideas, Brazilian artist Mauro Fuke hand carves wood – sometimes one piece, often many, many pieces that he assembles into moveable sculptures.

Snakess 2

Snakess 2 reconfigured

Spend some time scrolling through the pictures on his site, he has an extensive portfolio that dates back to 1983 – I had a hard time choosing pictures for this post.

Octaedro

Pounn

Pounn in progress

The website has a slideshow of Pounn in progress.

Rings!

Love this collection of Fuke’s rings – I don’t wear jewelry (weird, right?), but I would wear these – what a statement piece!

There is nothing particularly exciting about this video, but in my opinion that’s the point. The work is laborious and slow-moving, however, the results are exciting. Yes.

Mauro Fuke – atelier from Naíla Andrade Sarkar on Vimeo.

Want to see more about the 3D modeling? Go to his Projects page.

Mauro Fuke’s website

View all of the sculptures in one continuous stream here.

mary williams’ wood whimsy

Susan Lomuto — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:27:06 +0000

After a 20 year career in marketing, Mary Williams turned to woodworking with a passion and a drive to bring color and whimsy to the world she inhabits.

When I look at Williams’ totems I immediately envision them on a much smaller scale. I see textures and shapes that would make interesting beads; colors and patterns that would fit nicely together in a necklace or bracelet. No, I’m not a jewelry artist – and I don’t wear jewelry – but her sculptures bring beads and jewelry to mind.

The painting process I use of layering acrylics creates depth that brings the hand carved shapes and textures to life. My inspiration comes from the nature that I carve as shapes, lines, and textures to create abstract imagery. Layers of color sanded away to bare wood leave a warm, weathered, comforting feel while my choice of vibrant colors are just plain fun.

Even she sees the value of scaling the elements as seen in the handles of the Forks, Spoons and Paddles wall sculptures above, and the Art Ski collection, made from antique skis that she carves and paints, well. . .they just make me think of snow on this grey, chilly January day in the Northeast!

Art Ski Snowflakes

Mary Williams’ website

malcolm j. tibbetts’ segmented wood turnings

Susan Lomuto — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:14:58 +0000

“The puzzle of construction” – Malcolm J. Tibbetts says that if you are going to be successful at segmented wood turning then you have to love “the puzzle of construction”. The California artist combines hundreds – sometimes thousands – of pieces of wood, turning the glued constructions on a lathe to create sculptures of all sizes and shapes.

Global Spring
curly maple with a few black, brown, white, yellow and red segments
21” tall (including granite base)

Inspired by 2011 world-wide tension, Global Spring is made up of 1,024 rings of 16 segments per ring, totaling 16,384 segments. The tube is hollow, but not turned inside.

Perpetuity, carob, 20″ tall

“Segmented wood turning is an art form with few limitations. By combining components, I can create just about any shape or size and by arranging different wood species, I can create just about any type of surface design. There are few art forms with this much freedom. This lack of restriction keeps my mind engaged contemplating the possibilities. Many designs require innovative assembly solutions, much like puzzle solving; and just like the joy of solving a puzzle, there is great joy in inventing assembly techniques.”

Curiosity, macassar ebony and holly, 18.5″ tall

Footprints of a Twister, assorted woods, pierced footprints, 13″ Diameter

Footprints of a Twister is a tribute to the victims of the tornadoes that produced so much heartache in the Midwest and Southeast US during 2011.

Martin’s Dream, ebony & birdseye maple, 36″ wide
Inspired by Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech”

Malcolm J. Tibbets’ website

jim sams: realism in wood

Susan Lomuto — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:34:41 +0000

I thought the leaves, the petals, the stems, were real. I was certain of it. No. Not real, but really wonderful. Jim Sams is a self-taught artist who sketches, carves then paints wood to depict birds and wildflowers. Hours of research, drawing, carving and painting go into each piece, and each one captures a swift moment in time.

Paphiopedilium Orchid

Detail

Warbler On Hawthorne

Swallowtail On Coneflower

Jim Sams at work

Jim Sams’ website