Wood: Turning to Art April 26 – November 9, 2014 Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Terminal 3, Levels 1 and 2, three display cases Maple Burl Woodturning is a method of shaping wood using stationary tools and a spinning lathe. Wood is highly prized as an artistic medium because of its many unique colors, grain patterns, and textures. Artists play upon the vast variety of wood qualities to create one-of-a-kind works of art. This summer, the American Association of Woodturners (AAW) will be holding their 28th Annual International Symposium in Phoenix, Arizona. The symposium is the largest international gathering of woodturners and will feature numerous workshops, exhibitions, auctions, and presentations for both artisans and the general public. In celebration of the symposium, this exhibition presents the work of 18 Arizona artists that showcase a variety of techniques and methods of this art form. They employ techniques such as joinery, inlay and hand –...
From my mind as a black man living in modern American social ills. Gerard Merchant was born in 1959 in Lynchburg, Virginia. My works are primarily in wood sculpture. My sculptures emerge through a process of retakes and variations that mark my creative journey of examining the ambiguity between my vision, and the wood’s already exquisite origination. As I execute unclear and less formal rules and which should always reference the partnership with Nature, we create Art.