Читать книгу Oodles of Doodles, 2nd Edition - Kevin Wallace - Страница 8

VIRGINIA DOTSON

Woodturning gives Virginia Dotson the opportunity to explore stack-laminating techniques, while its limited scale allows her to develop a concept by working quickly through ideas. She likes to imitate the natural layering of wood grain in her laminated plywood projects. The layers remind her of the sedimentary rock landscapes in the deserts she often visits.

I find interesting interactions between the wood figure and the patterns I have created by layering different woods together. My laminated wood vessels are an expression of the landscape.

Artist Profile

b. 1943 Newton, Massachusetts

Raised in a family of musicians, Virginia studied art at Arizona State University, where she encountered woodturning as an art form; she took early inspiration from Wendell Castle, Bob Stocksdale, and Rudy Osolnik; began her woodworking career as furniture maker before turning to fine art.

Studio location: Scottsdale, Arizona

Sunlight Series #22, 2004. Curly birch and ebonized walnut, 9 ¼" high × 7 ¼" diameter. Dotson says the layers of wood echo “layered forms I have observed in nature, like the sedimentary rock landscapes common in the Southwestern United States where I live. Their history is recorded among the layers.”

Spiral Vessels, 2001. Italian poplar plywood, graphite; 9" high × 10 ¾" wide × 15 ½" deep. Just as a calligraphic brush stroke can contain an entire concept through gesture, Dotson uses form to capture experience and movement.

After Image, 2003. Baltic birch plywood; 7 ¾" high × 10 ¾" wide × 13 ½" deep. Says Dotson, “Animation and beauty may be found in the coexistence of opposites: positive and negative, light and dark, form and space.”

Crosswinds, 1990. Wenge, maple; 6 ¼" high × 16 ¼" diameter; permanent collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.