Terry Evans
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
B. 1951, Chetopa, Kansas
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2009 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004-06 Nature Transformed: Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, Touring
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL
Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY
2004 Out of the Woods, Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence, KS
2001 Celebrating Boxes, Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, United Kingdom
2000 The Fine Art of Wood: the Bohlen Collection, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2008 American Style Magazine. February, Issue #59.
2006 The New York Times. Friday, June 2. Pp B26. “Turning the Rhythmic Waves of
Cocobolo, Ebony and Jarrah Burl.” Glueck, Grace.
2004 Nature Transformed: Wood Art from The Bohlen Collection. Ulmer, Sean. Hudson Hills
Press, Manchester, VT.
Turning Points Magazine. Volume 16, No. 4.
400 Wood Boxes: The Fine Art of Containment & Concealment. Gunter, Veronika. Lark
Books, Sterling Publications, New York, NY.
2002 Celebrating Boxes. Crawford, Andrew & Lloyd, Peter. Linden Publishing, Fresno, CA.
Making Heirloom Boxes. Lloyd, Peter. Guild of Master Craftsman Publications Ltd,
East Sussex, UK.
2000 The Fine Art of Wood: The Bohlen Collection. Fike, Bonita. Abbeville Press,
New York, NY.
1998 Fine Decorative Boxes: Designing & Making Original Works of Art. Crawford, Andrew.
Sterling Publications, New York, NY.
The Art of Making Fine Wood Jewelry. Lydgate, Tony. Sterling Publications,
New York, NY.
1996 The Art of Making Elegant Jewelry Boxes. Lydgate, Tony. Sterling Publications,
New York, NY.
1990 Fine Woodworking Design Book Five. Taunton Press, Newtown, CT.
1983 Fine Woodworking Design Book Three. Taunton Press, Newtown, CT.
1979 Fine Woodworking Design Book Two. Taunton Press, Newtown, CT.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
A lifelong Kansan, Terry balanced parallel careers as an artisan and art educator for over thirty years. In 2006, he retired from teaching to devote full time to production of wood art. He has spent decades creating works which emphasize color and contrast in wood. He has formal degrees in Craft Design and Education, but his technical woodworking skills are self-taught. He began selling work at art fairs while still a student in the 70's, and has traveled with his family to art fairs from coast to coast since then.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I suppose that my overriding goal in art is much like that of many artists - I want to make work that is distinctly mine and does not appear to be derivative of someone else's style. We all recognize that most art is a synthesis of ideas gathered through the artist's observations. I hope the influences in my work are diverse enough to make it unlike any other. Paramount in achieving that is the gathering of a unique inventory of materials, including unusual exotic woods, lesser used or non-commercial domestic species, dyed veneers (for a richer color palette), and even the occasional use of man-made materials such as acrylic and cellulose based solid substrates. I prepare the solid stock by resawing, and laminate all the billets of wood myself. The vessel construction involves bandsaw and abrasive techniques. My process is totally unrelated to woodturning (many of my vessels are actually true ellipses), however many of the final pieces share an aesthetic with turned art.
There exists a small power in the vessel maker's art. He has created and segregated a space that did not exist before his decision to define it. He has drawn a boundary and defined a purpose for that boundary, even if that purpose is only to express beauty. I think for most of us artisans, being in control of that small space makes us very happy.
The work that I exhibit is my own creation. I work in a studio alone, with no assistance. No painting-no staining. The most common misconception about my work is that the designs are painted. All design work is completed using inlaid or laminated woods. Most of the surfaces you see are natural hardwoods with no artificial coloration. A few of the fine lines are veneers, which are commercially dyed.
Another false assumption is that I use commercially prepared laminates or inlay patterns. I resaw, surface, and prepare all stock for use in this process, even occasionally harvesting local hardwoods myself.
The inlay work is not a traditional technique. The inlaid material is .25 inch in thickness, which traditional inlay is only .03 to .05 inch thick. My technique is one which I have developed over 30 years of trial and error.
I am dedicated to environmentally responsible use of hardwoods. This has led me to seek out and promote species which are little known or under appreciated. Many trees are cut and burned out of convenience when they could actually be put to a functional use. I have on occasion produced pieces from timber actually destined for the landfill.
The imagery I most often utilize is geometric and grows out of the invention of various processes using power tools.
All of the containers which I produce are vessels for the spiritual and intangible, although they are certainly adaptable to more earthly applications. I hope they convey the lifelong sense of wonder that I have found in the biodiversity of just one small aspect of life. There are over 7,000 documented wood-producing species, only a small number of which are available for production work.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2009 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004-06 Nature Transformed: Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, Touring
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL
Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY
2004 Out of the Woods, Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence, KS
2001 Celebrating Boxes, Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, United Kingdom
2000 The Fine Art of Wood: the Bohlen Collection, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2008 American Style Magazine. February, Issue #59.
2006 The New York Times. Friday, June 2. Pp B26. “Turning the Rhythmic Waves of
Cocobolo, Ebony and Jarrah Burl.” Glueck, Grace.
2004 Nature Transformed: Wood Art from The Bohlen Collection. Ulmer, Sean. Hudson Hills
Press, Manchester, VT.
Turning Points Magazine. Volume 16, No. 4.
400 Wood Boxes: The Fine Art of Containment & Concealment. Gunter, Veronika. Lark
Books, Sterling Publications, New York, NY.
2002 Celebrating Boxes. Crawford, Andrew & Lloyd, Peter. Linden Publishing, Fresno, CA.
Making Heirloom Boxes. Lloyd, Peter. Guild of Master Craftsman Publications Ltd,
East Sussex, UK.
2000 The Fine Art of Wood: The Bohlen Collection. Fike, Bonita. Abbeville Press,
New York, NY.
1998 Fine Decorative Boxes: Designing & Making Original Works of Art. Crawford, Andrew.
Sterling Publications, New York, NY.
The Art of Making Fine Wood Jewelry. Lydgate, Tony. Sterling Publications,
New York, NY.
1996 The Art of Making Elegant Jewelry Boxes. Lydgate, Tony. Sterling Publications,
New York, NY.
1990 Fine Woodworking Design Book Five. Taunton Press, Newtown, CT.
1983 Fine Woodworking Design Book Three. Taunton Press, Newtown, CT.
1979 Fine Woodworking Design Book Two. Taunton Press, Newtown, CT.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
A lifelong Kansan, Terry balanced parallel careers as an artisan and art educator for over thirty years. In 2006, he retired from teaching to devote full time to production of wood art. He has spent decades creating works which emphasize color and contrast in wood. He has formal degrees in Craft Design and Education, but his technical woodworking skills are self-taught. He began selling work at art fairs while still a student in the 70's, and has traveled with his family to art fairs from coast to coast since then.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I suppose that my overriding goal in art is much like that of many artists - I want to make work that is distinctly mine and does not appear to be derivative of someone else's style. We all recognize that most art is a synthesis of ideas gathered through the artist's observations. I hope the influences in my work are diverse enough to make it unlike any other. Paramount in achieving that is the gathering of a unique inventory of materials, including unusual exotic woods, lesser used or non-commercial domestic species, dyed veneers (for a richer color palette), and even the occasional use of man-made materials such as acrylic and cellulose based solid substrates. I prepare the solid stock by resawing, and laminate all the billets of wood myself. The vessel construction involves bandsaw and abrasive techniques. My process is totally unrelated to woodturning (many of my vessels are actually true ellipses), however many of the final pieces share an aesthetic with turned art.
There exists a small power in the vessel maker's art. He has created and segregated a space that did not exist before his decision to define it. He has drawn a boundary and defined a purpose for that boundary, even if that purpose is only to express beauty. I think for most of us artisans, being in control of that small space makes us very happy.
The work that I exhibit is my own creation. I work in a studio alone, with no assistance. No painting-no staining. The most common misconception about my work is that the designs are painted. All design work is completed using inlaid or laminated woods. Most of the surfaces you see are natural hardwoods with no artificial coloration. A few of the fine lines are veneers, which are commercially dyed.
Another false assumption is that I use commercially prepared laminates or inlay patterns. I resaw, surface, and prepare all stock for use in this process, even occasionally harvesting local hardwoods myself.
The inlay work is not a traditional technique. The inlaid material is .25 inch in thickness, which traditional inlay is only .03 to .05 inch thick. My technique is one which I have developed over 30 years of trial and error.
I am dedicated to environmentally responsible use of hardwoods. This has led me to seek out and promote species which are little known or under appreciated. Many trees are cut and burned out of convenience when they could actually be put to a functional use. I have on occasion produced pieces from timber actually destined for the landfill.
The imagery I most often utilize is geometric and grows out of the invention of various processes using power tools.
All of the containers which I produce are vessels for the spiritual and intangible, although they are certainly adaptable to more earthly applications. I hope they convey the lifelong sense of wonder that I have found in the biodiversity of just one small aspect of life. There are over 7,000 documented wood-producing species, only a small number of which are available for production work.