VOYAGE is a relief mosaic consisting of a tooled bamboo column mounted on a saw-textured poplar plank, surrounded by waves of stacked plywood. Each piece was hand-finished, painted, then edged in copper mica, or covered in copper leaf. Very tedious detailing! The bamboo column is secured with copper wire in three places.
This mosaic measures 28.5 x 24 x 3.75 inches.
Oceanic is a recently completed relief mosaic consisting of poplar, tooled bamboo (with leather detail), saw-textured plywood, verdigris copper, and acrylic paint glazes. It measures 29 x 24 x 2 inches. This work was SOLD in the 2024 “Works in Wood” exhibition held at New Hope Arts, in New Hope, PA. The photos below show Oceanic in full view and a detail view.
Before more time flies by, I wanted to post something from an invitational show that I was very excited to be a part of earlier in the year. So, here are photos from InGrained, an Exhibition of Pennsylvania Furniture, Sculpture and Woodturning. This show was curated by well-known woodworker Mark Sfirri, and held at the Wayne Art Center in Pennsylvania.
The photo below shows my four wall-mounted relief mosaics in wood / bamboo. The first two are wood. They are from left: Umbra, Forest Wrap, Offerings, and The Dream Keeper. 
“Seeds of Change” measures 27.5 x 26 x 2 inches, and consists of poplar, pine, cedar, birch, and acrylic paint. This wood relief mosaic is currently on display in the national juried Works in Wood exhibition at New Hope Arts in New Hope, PA. I incised lines and textures into the wood by using various metal files, a bandsaw, and table saw. I’m very grateful to have received a Juror’s Award for this work. This is a detail from “Seeds of Change”…
Drifting is a wood relief mosaic measuring 24 x 16 x 2 inches. It is composed of birch and various plywoods, red dye, and acrylic paint stain. The wood is saw-textured by bandsaw and hand saws.
Umbra is a relief sculpture measuring 24 x 24 x 2.5 inches. The figures are saw-textured poplar, birch, and mahogany. The night sky shows a pattern of moon rays surrounding the moon. These are created by dipping oval segments of bamboo into a thin paint and stamping onto the panel.
Chant at Sundown is a bamboo & wood relief mosaic measuring 30 x 16.5 x 2 inches. The tooled central column and the adjoining oval segments are bamboo pieces in relief, while some of the dark tesserae show oval designs that are actually imprints of bamboo. These are made by dipping a segment of bamboo in paint and then stamping it onto a surface. Other tesserae in this composition are incised with a hand saw.
It has been a year of creative momentum for me. Ideas have been overflowing and expanding in my studio/hermitage! I’m thankful every day that I can tune out the world for a while, and joyfully work on my Art, be it an evolving wood or bamboo relief panel, a still life painting, or a meditative drawing in silverpoint.
Harmony in Black and Light is one of my newest wood-relief panels, measuring 30 x 15 x 1.5 inches. It marks the beginning of a new direction that I will be exploring, using blocks of solid wood, and common plywood that is incised and dyed, and stacked. I’m excited by the creative potential that has emerged with this. Every panel begins as a challenge and ends as a surprise ~ but that’s really what I’m after ~
Harmony in Black and Light is currently on display in the national juried “Works in Wood” show at New Hope Arts, in New Hope, PA. This highly anticipated annual show (which began in 1999), runs until January 9, 2022.
Wishing anyone who is reading this Happiness & Joy as this year winds down – and a new one dawns ~
Runic Vessel circa 2020 is a work I created for the AAW-POP (American Association of Woodturners-Professional Outreach Program). This 15th invitational exhibition and auction will be held in St. Paul, MN in July 2021. The invitation was not limited to woodturners, but open to artists working in various disciplines. We were asked to create work based on the theme Elements; the work had to fit into a 6″ cube. Runic Vessel measures 5.75″ at the widest point.) When the lid is lifted, three wooden tiles unfold to reveal designs that were created by dipping pieces of bamboo into paint and then stamping these onto the tiles.
Runic Vessel circa 2020 was begun in late 2020 and was still evolving into early 2021. It is the only 3-D work in my “Runes” series (wall relief mosaics). In this series, the focus is on the natural beauty of bamboo segments and their imprints on wood tiles. Please see my previous three posts about this series: Runes of a New Age / Runes, Book 2 / Runes, Book 3.
Runes, Book 3 is the third relief mosaic in this series. It measures 14 x 30 x 1.75 inches, and combines painted cedar, poplar, cherry, and other woods. The patterned tiles show imprints of various bamboo sections that were strategically cut and prepared for use as printing blocks. See also the previous two posts relating to these works.
