Artist Statement
A Long Time Coming
Sanding pieces of my grandfather’s work in his basement wood shop was an anointing in the spirit of wood. “Always sand with the grain, Grasshopper,” his voice echoes through my memory. Being a high-spirited lad, this tedious work was the genesis of discipline and patience necessary for learning the varying subtleties of multiple species of wood. Part of his motivation was, no doubt, to keep me focused and out of trouble. Eventually, focus and attention to detail became a mantra.
College was a metamorphosis of consciousness. A beginning in physics afforded me a recognition of, and appreciation for the universal order. Exposure to visual arts and jazz music was an enlightenment. The works of Paul Cézanne, Piet Mondrian, and Miles Davis reinforced my awareness of structural order while revealing the order in abstraction, and the subsequent abstraction of order. These masters, among others, inspired me toward the exploration of spatial relationships, and the interplay of shape and color…the timeless order of design.
Post graduate art-making yielded. MFA plans were tabled. Career and survival were the orders of life. I realized my earning potential was much greater as a construction carpenter. Yet, retrospectively, those 40+ years were not so much an abandonment as they were simply an alternative pathway, keeping me immersed in creative processes while feeding my love of wood, and my belly.
With the millennium came the realization that life was moving too quickly to remain in one place, both physically and spiritually. Events of the interceding decades have led me to a reawakening of the creative energies and desires latent for so long. Contemporary sensibilities discovered new avenues of creativity melding art and functionality.
It has been a long time coming for the Dennis Meyer Carpentry Studio in Lake Monticello, VA. While the studio has varied in shape, size and location through the years, it is where inspirations evolve in design on their way to fruition. I hope you like them.
