Brenda Behrens

b. 1940, Topeka, Kansas

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
The White House Collection of American Crafts, Washington, DC

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2004 Beneath The Bark: 25 Years of Woodturning, Brigham Young University
Museum of Art, Provo, UT
2003-04 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY and
Chicago, IL
2003 Artist in Residence, Kestral Creek, Moscow, ID
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Santa Fe, NM
2002-04 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2002 Branching Out: Contemporary Wood Turning 2002, Ellipse Arts Center,
Arlington, VA
1999 Artful Wood, Permanent Collection donated by Dr. Irving and Mari
Lipton, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
The Art of Turned Wood, World Forestry Center, Portland, OR
1998 Feast on Art '98, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
Pathways, Cleveland State University Art Gallery, Cleveland, OH
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, San Francisco, CA
1996 Year of American Craft, A Celebration of the Creative Works of the
Hand: Christmas Tree Ornaments, The White House, Washington, DC
Poised for the Next Century, Northwest Fine Woodworking
1992-94 Design in Wood, 1st Place Award, Southern California Exposition
1993 New Art Forms, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1989-93 Contemporary Craft Market, Santa Monica, CA
1992 Woodworking '92, City of Brea Gallery, Brea, CA
Demonstrator, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
1991-92 Challenge IV: International Lathe Turned Objects, Port of History
Museum, Philadelphia, PA, touring

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

2004 400 Wood Boxes, Lark Books
Beneath The Bark ,Twenty Five Years of Woodturning , Kip W,
Christiansen, Dale Nish
2003 American Craft, by del Mano Gallery, Feb, April, May issues
1992 Fine Wood Working Design Book Six, April

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

My career as a wood turning artist has grown from a small seed planted in the early 60's when I was living in Japan. I studied for two years under a Japanese wood carving instructor and developed a feeling for portraying flowers and plant life into the surface of wood. This gives me the perfect canvas for my lifelike forms.

The wood carving skills grew and developed over the years under such people as Rudolph Vargas.

In the mid 80's, I began the turning of a wood vessel on the lathe. It wasn't long before the turned vessel and my carving skills became united.

Currently, I am focusing on the foot of the vessel. As the piece is lifted into the hands, a surprise is discovered on the base, or foot. It is fun to lead the beholder into the exploring path to discover a pleasant surprise.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT (2002)

Presently I live in Chino Valley, Arizona and work out of my home studio. I was born and raised in Kansas and moved to California with my family in the mid 1950's, and just recently have relocated to Arizona. My education did not include formal art training, as I'm a self-taught turner and have incorporated wood carving skills that were acquired in Japan during my three years of residency in the early 1960's.

Each of my turned and carved vessels is one of a kind that evolves from one to another. I draw from Mother Nature for my flowing leaf forms. Currently, I am focusing on the foot of the vessel with the intent of leading the beholder down a path of exploration to discover a delightful surprise.