Tosca

Description

Dewey Garrett is a self-taught woodturner particularly interested in explorations of the formal and material qualities of turned wood pieces. “I am interested in the transformation and contrasts discovered through woodturning. The process of converting a featureless block of wood into a graceful, symmetrical form is always fascinating and full of surprises.”
Garrett’s turned palm vessels provide a case in point. He uses salvaged wood from California construction projects, often making use of the area’s native palm trees, a wood not traditionally used in turning. Unlike woods with annual ring structures, palm wood consists of long fibers within a spongy pith, qualities that must be considered when determining the proper size, shape, and wall thickness needed to create a form that will harmonize with the wood’s material properties.
from the exhibition Nature Transformed: Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, June 12 – October 3, 2004