Dixie Biggs

b. 1956, Lafayette, Indiana

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Highland Park Hospital, Highland Park, IL
Santa Fe Community College, Gainesville, FL
City of Orlando Public Art Collection, Orlando, FL

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2005-08   Turned Wood-Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008        Made to Deceive: The Art of Trompe L’Oeil, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft,
                        Louisville, KY
2007        Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington, DC
2005-07   Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
                Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL ; New York, NY
2006        As The Wood Turns: Dixix Biggs & John Mascoll, Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola,
                        FL
                Woodturned Sculptures Too, Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, IN
                Ingrained Passion, Function + Art Gallery, Chicago, IL
2005        A Nation of Enchanted Form: Woodturning Artists Across North America, American
                        Association of Woodturners Gallery, St. Paul, MN
                Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, Mesler Gallery, Rockport, ME
                Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Philadelphia, PA
                Nature Cherished, John Michael Kohler Artspace Gallery, Sheboygan, WI
2004        Sea to Odyssey, American Association of Woodturners, Orlando, FL
                Amazing Fibers:A Collaborative Effort, Gainesville Artisans' Guild, Gainesville, FL
2003        Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, Tarpon Sprints, FL
                Taking Turns, Thomas Center Galleries, Gainesville, FL
                Put A Lid On It, American Association of Woodturners, Brand Library Art Galleries,
                        Glendale, CA
2002        Wood Works, Media Image Gallery, Gainsville, FL
                Women's Work, High Springs Gallery, High Springs, FL

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

2004        Crafts Report Magazine, Insight section, August
2003       Woodturning, feature article by Iona Elliot, June
2002       Sunshine Artist, Cover photo and featured artist, March

ABOUT THE ARTIST

I was born in 1956 in Lafayette, Indiana. The following year my family moved to Gainesville, Florida, where I have lived ever since. I now live and work on 6 acres near Gainesville with my partner Delaine, a cat and dog, and assorted wildlife.

I first became interested in woodworking when I got my first pocketknife, as a child. I would spend hours studying and trying to carve the figures from my mother’s copy of Ben Hunt’s Whittling Book. My fascination with woodturning began in 1979, when I taught myself how to use a small wood lathe in order to duplicate a chess set my grandfather had made.

After receiving my B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Florida in 1979, I returned to my love of working with wood. In 1980 I displayed stylized bird carvings in my first art show. In 1988 I left my job as a biologist at a University of Florida research lab in order to build my own home. After finishing my house, I fulfilled another lifelong dream when I became a full-time artist. Since 1989 I have earned my living through the sale of my works. By incorporating more hand carving in my turned pieces I have now come full circle. I enjoy the inherent possibilities in such challenges.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I grew up with a love of carving and a fascination for working with wood. My interest in woodturning began in 1974 when I taught myself to use a wood lathe so I could duplicate a chess set my grandfather had made. My work has evolved from that initial experience.

I turn each piece on a lathe using hand held chisels. After the turning process is complete I embellish the surface of much of my work using various carving tools, both hand held and power carvers. Often the wood will dictate what kind of surface texture I use. Many of my designs are inspired by my love of the trees themselves and the world of nature around me. They tend to have an organic feel.

I get a great deal of excitement watching a piece take shape from my hands. I never know what I'm going to find once I peel away the bark of a log. Sometimes there is buried treasure! It is such a thrill when I find unexpected swirls, burls, patterns, and colors.

I love finding wood that others have discarded and breathing new life into it. I feel I've accomplished this when someone can't resist picking up a piece of my work and caressing it.