Art Liestman
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1953, Kansas City, Missouri
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006-08 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008 Woodturning Over The Edge, Prichard Gallery, Moscow, ID
Eighth Contemporary Wood Invitational, American Art Company, Tacoma, WA
The Sphere, AAW Gallery, St. Paul, MN
2007-08 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008 Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Scottsdale, AZ
04,06-07 Sculpture Objects and Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
2007 28th Annual Box and Container Show, Northwest Fine Woodworking Gallery, Seattle, WA
Japanese Bowls: A Western Perspective, St. Paul, MN
Brew-Haha, Alberta Craft Council, Edmonton, AB
Northern Exposure, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Seventh Contemporary Wood Invitational, American Art Company, Tacoma, WA
2006 Step Up To The Plate, Louisville, KY and St. Paul, MN
As the Wood Turns, Edward-Dean Museum, Cherry Valley, CA
2005 27th Annual Box and Container Show, Northwest Fine Woodworking Gallery, Seattle, WA
reTURN to the Land of Oz, Overland Park, KS and St. Paul, MN
Sculpture Objects and Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
Two Trees, Vancouver, BC and Burnaby, BC
Sixth Contemporary Wood Invitational, American Art Company, Tacoma, WA
The Art of Craft in America, Chautauqua Center for the Visual Arts, Chautauqua, NY
Art Beneath the Bark, Lake Oswego, OR
2004 Beneath the Bark: 25 Years of Woodturning, Brigham Young University Museum,
Provo, UT
From Sea to Odyssey, Caribe Royal, Orlando, FL
Landmark Center, St. Paul, MN
Wizardry in Wood- An Exhibition Revealing the Magic of the Woodturner's Craft,
Pewterer's Hall, London, England
Fith Contemporary Wood Invitational, American Art Company, Tacoma, WA
Beneath the Bark- 25 Years of Woodturning, Brigham Young University Museum of Art,
Provo, UT
2003-04 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Put A Lid On It: Containing Human Experience, American Association of Woodturners,
Brand Library Art Galleries, Glendale, CA
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Santa Fe, NM
2002 Evolution of Woodturning, American Association of Woodturners Symposium,
Providence, RI
2002 Heart and Soul, Juried, Crafts Association of British Columbia, Vancouver,
British Columbia
Contemporary Wood Turning, Wave Gallery, New Haven, CT
Demonstrator, Pacific Northwest Woodturning Symposium, Everett, WA
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2007 Wallace, Kevin, “Outside Inspiration”, Woodturning Magazine, Issue 178,
September 2007
2005 Ron Hampton, Small and Miniature Turning: A Complete Guide, Guild of Master
Craftsmen Publications
2004 Christensen, Kip and Dale Nish, Beneath the Bark: 25 Years of Woodturning, Brigham
Young University Museum, Provo, UT
Katherine Duncan-Aimone, Ray Leier, Jan Peters, 500 Wood Bowls: Bold and Original
Designs blending Tradition & Innovation, Lark Books Dona Z. Meilach, Wood Art
Today, Schiffer Press
2003 Liestman, Art, "Doughnut Chuck", Canadian Woodworking, December/January
2002 Liestman, Art, "Collars for Hollow Vessels", American Woodturner, Spring
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
As contemporary wood artists push the boundaries of woodturning in many directions, it is a challenge to find one's own niche. I feel that it is essential to look outside of the turned wood field for inspiration. I find it in both music and mathematics, both of which have long been a part of my life. I also find new ideas and directions in more traditional art forms and in the textures and patterns of everyday objects.
I spend my days as a professor in Computing Science at Simon Fraser University. When I leave the halls of the academe, I can usually be found turning (and otherwise tormenting) wood in my home studio in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.
My involvement in woodworking began with a desire to make experimental musical intruments. Eventually, my instruments needed turned components, so I acquired a lathe. As I gained some experience with the lathe, my passion for turning quickly overtook my other woodworking interests and I began to see myself as primarily a woodturner.
I enjoy working with wood, beginning with a freshly cut "green" log mounted on the lathe and continuing until the turned form has reached its final shape. But this is usually not the end of the process. I generally prefer to enhance the turned object with the addition of carved decorations, incised lines, varying textures, and/ or the application of color. These enhancements are done with careful attention to the existing figure in the wood, allowing it to show through in many cases.
Since receiving an AAW Educational Opportunity Grant in 2000, I have been primarily focusing on surface enhanced woodturnings. Much of my work involves pyrography and coloring, as well as some carving.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006-08 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008 Woodturning Over The Edge, Prichard Gallery, Moscow, ID
Eighth Contemporary Wood Invitational, American Art Company, Tacoma, WA
The Sphere, AAW Gallery, St. Paul, MN
2007-08 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008 Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Scottsdale, AZ
04,06-07 Sculpture Objects and Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
2007 28th Annual Box and Container Show, Northwest Fine Woodworking Gallery, Seattle, WA
Japanese Bowls: A Western Perspective, St. Paul, MN
Brew-Haha, Alberta Craft Council, Edmonton, AB
Northern Exposure, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Seventh Contemporary Wood Invitational, American Art Company, Tacoma, WA
2006 Step Up To The Plate, Louisville, KY and St. Paul, MN
As the Wood Turns, Edward-Dean Museum, Cherry Valley, CA
2005 27th Annual Box and Container Show, Northwest Fine Woodworking Gallery, Seattle, WA
reTURN to the Land of Oz, Overland Park, KS and St. Paul, MN
Sculpture Objects and Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
Two Trees, Vancouver, BC and Burnaby, BC
Sixth Contemporary Wood Invitational, American Art Company, Tacoma, WA
The Art of Craft in America, Chautauqua Center for the Visual Arts, Chautauqua, NY
Art Beneath the Bark, Lake Oswego, OR
2004 Beneath the Bark: 25 Years of Woodturning, Brigham Young University Museum,
Provo, UT
From Sea to Odyssey, Caribe Royal, Orlando, FL
Landmark Center, St. Paul, MN
Wizardry in Wood- An Exhibition Revealing the Magic of the Woodturner's Craft,
Pewterer's Hall, London, England
Fith Contemporary Wood Invitational, American Art Company, Tacoma, WA
Beneath the Bark- 25 Years of Woodturning, Brigham Young University Museum of Art,
Provo, UT
2003-04 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Put A Lid On It: Containing Human Experience, American Association of Woodturners,
Brand Library Art Galleries, Glendale, CA
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Santa Fe, NM
2002 Evolution of Woodturning, American Association of Woodturners Symposium,
Providence, RI
2002 Heart and Soul, Juried, Crafts Association of British Columbia, Vancouver,
British Columbia
Contemporary Wood Turning, Wave Gallery, New Haven, CT
Demonstrator, Pacific Northwest Woodturning Symposium, Everett, WA
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2007 Wallace, Kevin, “Outside Inspiration”, Woodturning Magazine, Issue 178,
September 2007
2005 Ron Hampton, Small and Miniature Turning: A Complete Guide, Guild of Master
Craftsmen Publications
2004 Christensen, Kip and Dale Nish, Beneath the Bark: 25 Years of Woodturning, Brigham
Young University Museum, Provo, UT
Katherine Duncan-Aimone, Ray Leier, Jan Peters, 500 Wood Bowls: Bold and Original
Designs blending Tradition & Innovation, Lark Books Dona Z. Meilach, Wood Art
Today, Schiffer Press
2003 Liestman, Art, "Doughnut Chuck", Canadian Woodworking, December/January
2002 Liestman, Art, "Collars for Hollow Vessels", American Woodturner, Spring
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
As contemporary wood artists push the boundaries of woodturning in many directions, it is a challenge to find one's own niche. I feel that it is essential to look outside of the turned wood field for inspiration. I find it in both music and mathematics, both of which have long been a part of my life. I also find new ideas and directions in more traditional art forms and in the textures and patterns of everyday objects.
I spend my days as a professor in Computing Science at Simon Fraser University. When I leave the halls of the academe, I can usually be found turning (and otherwise tormenting) wood in my home studio in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.
My involvement in woodworking began with a desire to make experimental musical intruments. Eventually, my instruments needed turned components, so I acquired a lathe. As I gained some experience with the lathe, my passion for turning quickly overtook my other woodworking interests and I began to see myself as primarily a woodturner.
I enjoy working with wood, beginning with a freshly cut "green" log mounted on the lathe and continuing until the turned form has reached its final shape. But this is usually not the end of the process. I generally prefer to enhance the turned object with the addition of carved decorations, incised lines, varying textures, and/ or the application of color. These enhancements are done with careful attention to the existing figure in the wood, allowing it to show through in many cases.
Since receiving an AAW Educational Opportunity Grant in 2000, I have been primarily focusing on surface enhanced woodturnings. Much of my work involves pyrography and coloring, as well as some carving.