Biographical Sketch Bruce Countryman
After spending 30 years in eastern Oregon, my wife, Katie, and I moved to Forest Grove 21⁄2 years ago. We love the landscape here, the mild climate, and the very welcoming community we now call home. I have been a woodworking hobbyist for the last 30 years, building a wide variety of pieces including furniture, cabinets, and small craft items. Within the last 10 years my interests have widened to include using the wood lathe to turn more artistic items such as hollow vessels and bowls.
I currently have work on display at Valley Art and have had work on display in several galleries in eastern Oregon. In 2008 several of my turnings were selected to show in the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts in Joseph, Oregon.
I enjoy rescuing pieces of wood destined for the fireplace and turning (repurposing) them into art. Much of what I use is locally found wood that is probably unsuited for lumber, and as such, contains what some would see as defects (bark inclusions, decay, and twisted grain) that I can turn into a focal point for the piece. Often I try and retain some of the outer bark or natural grain of the tree to contrast with the inner polished wood. During the design process I usually have a idea in mind where I’m headed, but because of the “defects” in the wood, things often go a different direction, so it’s always exciting to see what the original plan morphs into- sometimes in the end it’s still firewood.
Much of what I turn now are hollow vessels that first get the outer surface turned and shaped before switching to using special tools to hollow the inside of the piece. It’s during the hollowing process that the bark inclusions and other voids can become small windows for viewing the inside surface of the hollow vessel.