First Name
Dennis
Last Name
Curtis
Business Name
Dennis Curtis Woodturning
Partner Name
Media Category
Wood
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Region
Kennebec/Moose River Valley
Membership Level:
Guild Level
About
I’ve always been a maker. I started when I was very young in my father’s shop, nailing lobster trap scraps together. Over the years, woodworking became and remained the main outlet for my need to create.
Most of my interest now lies in turning bowls and vessels, though I also enjoy creating other turned items. My creations most often originate from found or salvaged timber, not from trees felled for the purpose. Each blank from the log is oriented and turned to best showcase the natural grain and figure of the wood.
We often think of the forest as just a sea of green from afar. We know, though, that the forest is really made up of unique trees of different species, sizes and shapes. Similarly, we often think of a tree’s wood as uniform, straight-grained and even colored. Many craftsmen seek out this grade of wood for furniture, rejecting any wild grain, knots, insect damage, spalting, bark inclusions or other defects.
Turning bowls and vessels with fairly straight, predictable grain and color can be pleasurable and yield beautiful results, but I’m more excited by the wood that gives us a glimpse of the tree’s history. Even when I could avoid wood with defects, or simply cut away a troubled area, I often choose to leave the wood to reveal its struggles. As the tree drew its life from the soil and the air and the rain and the snow, it had to do battle against weather and insects and animals and man. It’s left up to us to ponder and decipher the visible results of these battles that are now part of the tree’s autobiography.
Fortunately for us, these “defects” can become fascinating “features”. While straight-grained wood can be beautiful, burl or crotch figure can be stunning. When bark inclusions become irregular holes through a hollow form, they become interesting and exciting. The insect’s labyrinth of tunnels through the wood looks like lacework, and fungal spalting becomes an abstract pen and ink drawing on wood. Each of these “features” becomes another chapter in the tree’s story, and it’s truly a joy for me to expose and showcase them.
While the wood and its story are certainly important pieces of the process, the form itself is the signature of the maker. The turned form springs from the life experiences of the turner, influenced by what he’s previously seen, thought, wondered about and created. Though not formally trained in the arts, I like to think that my sense of form has been shaped by my time spent lobstering on Penobscot Bay, watching the sea and its creatures. No matter the cause for it, the piece must please both my eyes and hands before I send it on its way. I hope that you enjoy (and ponder) each one as much as I do.
Most of my interest now lies in turning bowls and vessels, though I also enjoy creating other turned items. My creations most often originate from found or salvaged timber, not from trees felled for the purpose. Each blank from the log is oriented and turned to best showcase the natural grain and figure of the wood.
We often think of the forest as just a sea of green from afar. We know, though, that the forest is really made up of unique trees of different species, sizes and shapes. Similarly, we often think of a tree’s wood as uniform, straight-grained and even colored. Many craftsmen seek out this grade of wood for furniture, rejecting any wild grain, knots, insect damage, spalting, bark inclusions or other defects.
Turning bowls and vessels with fairly straight, predictable grain and color can be pleasurable and yield beautiful results, but I’m more excited by the wood that gives us a glimpse of the tree’s history. Even when I could avoid wood with defects, or simply cut away a troubled area, I often choose to leave the wood to reveal its struggles. As the tree drew its life from the soil and the air and the rain and the snow, it had to do battle against weather and insects and animals and man. It’s left up to us to ponder and decipher the visible results of these battles that are now part of the tree’s autobiography.
Fortunately for us, these “defects” can become fascinating “features”. While straight-grained wood can be beautiful, burl or crotch figure can be stunning. When bark inclusions become irregular holes through a hollow form, they become interesting and exciting. The insect’s labyrinth of tunnels through the wood looks like lacework, and fungal spalting becomes an abstract pen and ink drawing on wood. Each of these “features” becomes another chapter in the tree’s story, and it’s truly a joy for me to expose and showcase them.
While the wood and its story are certainly important pieces of the process, the form itself is the signature of the maker. The turned form springs from the life experiences of the turner, influenced by what he’s previously seen, thought, wondered about and created. Though not formally trained in the arts, I like to think that my sense of form has been shaped by my time spent lobstering on Penobscot Bay, watching the sea and its creatures. No matter the cause for it, the piece must please both my eyes and hands before I send it on its way. I hope that you enjoy (and ponder) each one as much as I do.
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