Puppeteer Moves Audiences with Deep Craft from the Dark Side
byEdwin Salas’ beginnings as a puppet maker happened through need, not creative dabbling. “When I was an orphan child, I lived with my grandmother,…
Wood
Main Street Proprietor Leaves the Light on for Dozens of Local Makers
by“Opening a gallery was not on my radar,” admits lamp designer Leah Baker, who founded Artisans on Main in January 2017. “In the end,…
Chair Maker Doesn’t Take the “Life as Art” Idea Sitting Down
by“Art isn’t just the stuff we make,” declares Pedro Esqueda. “It’s our whole life.” He’s proof positive of that, as his work expands into…
Successful House Builder Turned Himself Into a Deconstructionist
byHolland Van Gores has worked with wood his entire life, building everything from skateboards as a kid to custom houses in the Virgin Islands….
Woodturner Lathed On Through to the Other Side
byDavid Ellsworth, a turner of delicate, thin-walled wood sculptures, is always aware that his tools might puncture the surface of his works and ruin…
Family-Influenced Woodworker Thinks Outside the Keepsake Box
byWhen Valerie Berlage was a child, the older generation strongly influenced her creativity, and in real time. That’s why she named her woodworking enterprise Lauraine…
It’s Tough Work Making Simple Look Simple
byFatie Atkinson has turned his hand to many skills over the years, from house painter to electrician, but it was in wood that he…
He Used a Backcountry Sport to Make his Mark Worldwide
by“In every community, there’s someone up in the hills who could shoot the toes off a Tweety Bird from a hundred yards away.” That’s what…
Marketing Folk Art without a Website is Almost as Gutsy as Throwing Knives
by“I don’t do what other people want,” says BJ Precourt of his whimsical carved wooden figures. “It’s all my own imagination.” Scavenging wood from…
He was Swept Away by Front Porch Epiphanies
byAndrew Goodheart Brown says he was initially attracted to broom making when he realized he could create something beautiful and, at the same time,…