Natural Sculpture

Charybdis

My first glimpse of what would become Charybdis was a tree twisted unlike any I had ever seen. I figured its contorted mass resulted from a tornado strike when it was just a sapling. It sported double back curves that are my stock in trade, and I very badly wanted to sculpt into it for its color and grain features.

Charybdis | 5′-2″ h, 2′-3″ w, 1′-6″ d | Osage Orange | Inquire.

Moab

Moab : The more figured a piece of wood is, the simpler the design should be. The two should not be in conflict.

Moab | 2′-0″ h, 1′-4″ w, 10″ d | Bay Laurel Burl | Inquire.

First Born

First Born : Set aside for almost four years because the refinement and sanding process is a discipline I found lacking in those days!

First Born | 1’-11”h, 7” diameter | Aromatic Red Cedar | SOLD

New Wave

New Wave : This piece insisted on showing off soft lines and wide broad surfaces of its grain and texture.

New Wave | 12” h, 1’-8” w, 9” d | Windshake Walnut | SOLD

Monument Mesa

Monument Mesa : It was a lot of fun for me working this piece – taking the natural formation and imparting sweeping undulations in opposition.

Monument Mesa | 2′-0″ h, 2′-2″ w, 1′-7″d | American Black Walnut | Inquire.

Passages into the Void

Passages into the Void : When most artists talk about partnering with the work, this is what they mean. And this piece reminds me of that other dimension or realm. There are endless access points or routes to get from the outside to the inside or from one side to the other.

Passages into the Void | 4′-3″ h, 1′-2″ w, 1′-2″ d | Aromatic Red Cedar | Inquire.

Romancing the Stone

Romancing the Stone : This Rhododendron root burl so tenaciously cradled that piece of granite, I had no other option when I sculpted the piece than to honor their 30+ year relationship.

Romancing the Stone | 10″ h, 1′-3″ w, 5″ d | Rhododendron & Granite | Inquire.

A distressed curly white oak burl that is left both natural and half sculpted, and partially polished. The result allows a harmony of natural lines, color, grain and defects.

The Phoenix

Bringing new life I found this piece of distressed curly white oak burl being used as a wheel chock underneath a pickup truck on a logging project in Madison County, North Carolina. It was covered with mud and embedded with sand and rocks. Despite its condition, I recognized potential in the wavy lines that were …

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Laughing Waters

Microbial Beauty While I was hiking in Hunterdon County, N.J., I spotted this piece of spalted maple on the forest floor. Spalting results in a trail of carbon left when microbial action begins the decaying process in many woods, especially maples. It appears as black or brown lines or patches. Spalted woods have long been …

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Desert Bloom

Flowing out of the desert The wood for this piece comes from the stump of an unknown species of ornamental tree/bush that a friend gave me from his property in Clearwater, FL. Areas of the sculpture have purple hues. This a relatively uncommon result of mineral deposits in the soil. The three arms emanate from …

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Splash Dance

Splash Dance : For an amorphous mass of maple burl, the question “Should I be a lathe-turned bowl or a sculpture?” remained unanswered for 15 years. Finally, the answer became “Yes.”

Splash Dance | 1’-7”h, 1’-3”w, 1’-0”d | Maple Stump Burl | SOLD

Wind Swept

A re-birth Hiking near Ken Lockwood Gorge in Hunterdon County, N.J., I found this piece of tulip poplar that had been bent over significantly by a small tree that had fallen across it. Wind action on the two trees caused continual diagonal abrasion. Simultaneously, the poplar’s attempts to grow and heal itself produced both the …

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Cliff Dwelling

The deep penetrations and shelves of this burl wood sculpture are my abstract interpretation of the cliff dwellings created by the American Southwest Anasazi Indians. Come see how well you think I did.
Cliff Dwelling | 1′-4″ h, 1’-7” w, 12″ diameter | Apple Stump Burl | Private Collection of Harry Pollitt

Rhapsody

Enthusiastic expression from Rhododendron This piece is sculpted from a rhododendron root burl that had been bulldozed into a pile of waste wood on a clear-cut logging project in Madison County, N.C. Scheduled to be burned along with others on the pile, I rescued it – and a second gnarled lump from which I ultimately …

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Torch Light

Naturally light I found this limb of a large cedar tree in 1976 lying alongside Edgewater Drive between Clearwater and Dunedin, Florida, USA. I began working on it in 1994. The extreme interval of time was spent waiting for my creative talent, tool skills and finishing techniques to equal the challenge of doing justice to …

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