John creates unique wooden bowls and vessels from blanks that are 10 years old. "Blanks" are solid blocks of wood that are turned using a lathe and carved into shapes. Very large blanks come from very large trees and sometimes can be hard to find. John's wonderfully large scale bowls are delightful to the eyes, they allow one to take in all of the patterns and details that occur naturally within the wood. Best of all, they are as useful as they are sculptural.
"My early interest in woodworking grew out of a desire to make things, a natural impulse toward self-sufficiency when the Great Depression was slowly waning in the mid west, and where, on the treeless plains, wood was a precious commodity. I returned to woodworking after a a detour through office work and anthropology studies, making a living in carpentry and then cabinetmaking. An early focus on carving has evolved into bowl turning which is, essentially, powered carving."