Will you turn up?
The forests of the Oregon Coast have long provided inspiration and raw material for woodworkers. A new exhibit at the Newport Visual Arts Center will show what happens when that connection meets the lathe.
“From Forest to Form: Celebrating the Art and Heritage of Oregon Coast Woodturning” opens this Friday, Oct. 23, bringing together artists from three independent woodturning clubs on the Oregon Coast.
The exhibition features members of woodturning groups based in Bay City, South Beach and Reedsport, offering a coastwide look at a craft that can produce everything from functional objects to intricate works of fine art.
Friday’s opening reception will give guests an opportunity to meet participating artists and hear them discuss the techniques and ideas behind their work. The evening will also include music and light refreshments.
The Oregon Coast Woodturners, based in South Beach, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about the art and craft of woodturning. By joining with the Bay City and Reedsport clubs, the group hopes to demonstrate the variety of approaches being practiced along the coast.
Those approaches range from time-honored techniques to contemporary experimentation, but all begin with the distinctive qualities of the material itself.
Woodturning has particularly deep roots on the Oregon Coast, where generations of craftspeople have drawn on the region’s forests and the legacy of its historic myrtle wood shops.
While that history remains an important part of the craft, contemporary woodturners continue to expand its possibilities. The works in “From Forest to Form” demonstrate how artists can use the grain, color, texture and imperfections of individual pieces of wood as integral parts of their finished designs.
The exhibit also offers a chance to look more closely at a process that can easily be overlooked in the finished piece. Using a lathe, woodturners rotate a piece of wood at high speed while carefully shaping it with specialized tools. The process requires both precision and an ability to respond to the characteristics revealed as layers of wood are removed.
The result can be practical, sculptural or somewhere in between, transforming material from the forests of the Oregon Coast into objects that preserve the character of the tree while bearing the unmistakable hand of the artist.
“From Forest to Form” will remain on display through Sunday, Nov. 29.
Friday’s opening reception and artist talks run from 4 to 6 pm at the Newport Visual Arts Center, located at 777 NW Beach Drive. Regular gallery hours are noon to 4 pm Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, go to coastarts.org or call 541-265-2787.