Cindy Drozda
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1958 in Kansas City, Missouri.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2010 Turned Wood- Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Flora & Fauna, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
The Spindle, AAW Gallery of Wood Art, St. Paul, MN
Restful Places: Cremations Urns and Memorial Objects, AAW Gallery of Wood Art,
St. Paul, MN
2006 Turned Wood-Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
American Woodturners – Fine Art of Woodturning, Coral Springs Museum of Art,
Coral Springs, FL
Woodturned Sculptures Too, The Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, IN
Contemporary American Woodturning, Rochester Art Center, Rochester, MN
2005 The Red Show, Invitational, East End Applied Arts, Aurora, CO
Art Beneath The Bark - A Celebration of Woodturning, Lakewood Center
for the Arts, Lake Oswego, OR
Solo Exhibition, Vessel Gallery of Contemporary American Ceramics,
Huntington Valley, PA
Showcase 2005: Women in Woodworking”, Saratoga Springs City Center, Saratoga, NY
A Nation of Enchanted Form: Woodturning Artists Across North America, Messler
Gallery at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, Rockport, ME
AAW Gallery of Wood Art, St. Paul, MN
2004 National Wood Working Exhibition, Invitational, Natalie Paul Gallery, Geneva IL
Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, Philadelphia, PA
From Sea to Odyssey, AAW Symposium, Orlando, FL
Beneath The Bark: 25 Years of Woodturning, Brigham Young University Museum of Art,
Provo, UT
American Craft Exposition, Evanston, IL
Niche Award Finalist, Turned Wood
2003 Put A Lid On It: Containing Human Experience, AAW Symposium, Brand Library Art
Galleries, Glendale, CA
Winner of the Niche Award, Turned Wood
2002 Craft Concepts, The Noyes Museum of Art Oceanville, NJ
Contemporary Woodturning Exhibit, The Wave Gallery, New Haven, CT
2000-02 Turned, Thrown, Blown, and Hammered, Main Street Gallery, Timnath, CO
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2009 Masters: Woodturning: Major Works by Leading Artists. Lark Books, Sterling
Publications, New York, NY.
2005 American Woodturner Magazine. Summer. "Mind your (turning) Manners."
Small and Miniature Turning: A Complete Guide. Hampton, Ron. Guild of Master
Craftsman Publications, East Sussex, UK.
2004 500 Wood Bowls: Bold & Original Designs Blending Tradition & Innovation. Leier, Ray;
Peters, Jan & Wallace, Kevin. Lark Books, Sterling Publications, New York, NY.
Beneath The Bark: Twenty-Five Years of Woodturning. Christensen, Kip & Nish, Dale.
Utah Woodturning Symposium, Inc, Provo, UT.
400 Wood Boxes: The Fine Art of Containment & Concealment. Gunter, Veronika.
Lark Books, Sterling Publications, New York, NY.
2003 American Woodturner Magazine. Fall. "Instant Gallery Critique, A Woodturner's
Perspective."
2002 American Woodturner Magazine. Fall. “Instant Gallery Critique, Cultivating Growth and
Direction.”
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
My pieces choreograph pure classic form with natural burlwood patterns. I complete the vessel with a delicate hand-turned Blackwood finial, creating a Lidded Vessel with elegant presence and lively personality.
A jewel hidden under the lid reminds us of the treasure that life reveals when we make the effort to look deeper within.
Lidded Containers have fascinated me since I was a child hiding secret treasures; today they are my most creatively stimulating body of work. I hope you will enjoy my Lidded Vessels as much as I have enjoyed the creative process!
I am fortunate in having discovered very early that my love of working with wood could be cultivated into a way to make a living. At age 19 I took a job at a player piano factory, where the owner of the factory gave me a valuable gift that changed my life's direction. The player piano factory was the hobby of a California lawyer who loved machinery. He had a large building full of 19th century woodworking machines driven by a working steam engine that he fired up once a year to put all of the antique machines through their paces. There were modern machines at the piano company as well, and I was encouraged to learn about any and all of them that inspired me. The owner of the factory was always available to answer my questions, and to suggest new projects for me to explore. During the 5 years that I worked there, I got a good basic understanding of woodworking, metal machining, brazing, plastics, adhesives, fasteners, engineering, and manufacturing.
Thanks to this man, I have been free to discover and pursue my own passion. Working in small cabinet shops until 1992, I then turned to full time self-employment. I explored several options, including making hang gliding equipment and building airplanes, before realizing that working with wood was my true passion. My first experience with turning wood was in 1984, when I made a pair of chairs with turned spindles. Woodturning continued to be one of my many hobbies until I made it my full time occupation in 1998.
Life as a self-employed woodturner is not without its difficulties . On this journey I continue to experience my strengths and weaknesses; the greatest struggle for me has been with self-confidence. A tremendous source of strength and inspiration has been my life-partner David Nittmann, whose support and encouragement has helped me to grow as an artist and as a person. My work has been chosen for exhibitions around the country, and has appeared in several magazines. I am an active member of the American Association of Woodturners, and demonstrate my woodturning techniques at national symposiums and local clubs. My home and studio are in Boulder, Colorado.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2010 Turned Wood- Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Flora & Fauna, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
The Spindle, AAW Gallery of Wood Art, St. Paul, MN
Restful Places: Cremations Urns and Memorial Objects, AAW Gallery of Wood Art,
St. Paul, MN
2006 Turned Wood-Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
American Woodturners – Fine Art of Woodturning, Coral Springs Museum of Art,
Coral Springs, FL
Woodturned Sculptures Too, The Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, IN
Contemporary American Woodturning, Rochester Art Center, Rochester, MN
2005 The Red Show, Invitational, East End Applied Arts, Aurora, CO
Art Beneath The Bark - A Celebration of Woodturning, Lakewood Center
for the Arts, Lake Oswego, OR
Solo Exhibition, Vessel Gallery of Contemporary American Ceramics,
Huntington Valley, PA
Showcase 2005: Women in Woodworking”, Saratoga Springs City Center, Saratoga, NY
A Nation of Enchanted Form: Woodturning Artists Across North America, Messler
Gallery at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, Rockport, ME
AAW Gallery of Wood Art, St. Paul, MN
2004 National Wood Working Exhibition, Invitational, Natalie Paul Gallery, Geneva IL
Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, Philadelphia, PA
From Sea to Odyssey, AAW Symposium, Orlando, FL
Beneath The Bark: 25 Years of Woodturning, Brigham Young University Museum of Art,
Provo, UT
American Craft Exposition, Evanston, IL
Niche Award Finalist, Turned Wood
2003 Put A Lid On It: Containing Human Experience, AAW Symposium, Brand Library Art
Galleries, Glendale, CA
Winner of the Niche Award, Turned Wood
2002 Craft Concepts, The Noyes Museum of Art Oceanville, NJ
Contemporary Woodturning Exhibit, The Wave Gallery, New Haven, CT
2000-02 Turned, Thrown, Blown, and Hammered, Main Street Gallery, Timnath, CO
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2009 Masters: Woodturning: Major Works by Leading Artists. Lark Books, Sterling
Publications, New York, NY.
2005 American Woodturner Magazine. Summer. "Mind your (turning) Manners."
Small and Miniature Turning: A Complete Guide. Hampton, Ron. Guild of Master
Craftsman Publications, East Sussex, UK.
2004 500 Wood Bowls: Bold & Original Designs Blending Tradition & Innovation. Leier, Ray;
Peters, Jan & Wallace, Kevin. Lark Books, Sterling Publications, New York, NY.
Beneath The Bark: Twenty-Five Years of Woodturning. Christensen, Kip & Nish, Dale.
Utah Woodturning Symposium, Inc, Provo, UT.
400 Wood Boxes: The Fine Art of Containment & Concealment. Gunter, Veronika.
Lark Books, Sterling Publications, New York, NY.
2003 American Woodturner Magazine. Fall. "Instant Gallery Critique, A Woodturner's
Perspective."
2002 American Woodturner Magazine. Fall. “Instant Gallery Critique, Cultivating Growth and
Direction.”
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
My pieces choreograph pure classic form with natural burlwood patterns. I complete the vessel with a delicate hand-turned Blackwood finial, creating a Lidded Vessel with elegant presence and lively personality.
A jewel hidden under the lid reminds us of the treasure that life reveals when we make the effort to look deeper within.
Lidded Containers have fascinated me since I was a child hiding secret treasures; today they are my most creatively stimulating body of work. I hope you will enjoy my Lidded Vessels as much as I have enjoyed the creative process!
I am fortunate in having discovered very early that my love of working with wood could be cultivated into a way to make a living. At age 19 I took a job at a player piano factory, where the owner of the factory gave me a valuable gift that changed my life's direction. The player piano factory was the hobby of a California lawyer who loved machinery. He had a large building full of 19th century woodworking machines driven by a working steam engine that he fired up once a year to put all of the antique machines through their paces. There were modern machines at the piano company as well, and I was encouraged to learn about any and all of them that inspired me. The owner of the factory was always available to answer my questions, and to suggest new projects for me to explore. During the 5 years that I worked there, I got a good basic understanding of woodworking, metal machining, brazing, plastics, adhesives, fasteners, engineering, and manufacturing.
Thanks to this man, I have been free to discover and pursue my own passion. Working in small cabinet shops until 1992, I then turned to full time self-employment. I explored several options, including making hang gliding equipment and building airplanes, before realizing that working with wood was my true passion. My first experience with turning wood was in 1984, when I made a pair of chairs with turned spindles. Woodturning continued to be one of my many hobbies until I made it my full time occupation in 1998.
Life as a self-employed woodturner is not without its difficulties . On this journey I continue to experience my strengths and weaknesses; the greatest struggle for me has been with self-confidence. A tremendous source of strength and inspiration has been my life-partner David Nittmann, whose support and encouragement has helped me to grow as an artist and as a person. My work has been chosen for exhibitions around the country, and has appeared in several magazines. I am an active member of the American Association of Woodturners, and demonstrate my woodturning techniques at national symposiums and local clubs. My home and studio are in Boulder, Colorado.