Terry Holzgreen
Fir Bowl 2023
Douglas Fir, glue, oil, wax..
4.5" x 10" x 10"
Artist Statement
"The shop and its rhythms are my life. After nearly 40 years of work as a self-taught carpenter and cabinet shop for hire I have transformed that shop into a full-time artist’s studio. I am pursuing the impulses of my artistic voice, making content driven works that speak on topics that concern me most. Sustainability is a central part of my work. Urban trees, scavenged wood, and job remnants provide ample materials for my projects. After decades the question, “what can I do with the wood,” has been overtaken by the question, “what can I do for the wood?”
While creative in many other mediums, I was blocked for decades in locating my creative voice with wood. I lucked into finding it while attempting to help a family member in an emotional crisis by bringing him to the shop hoping that working with his hands would spark some passion and meaning as it does for me. I had the idea to make a small hollow cube and attach to the surface a grid of thin solid pieces; some natural and others with a thin wash of color. It was an impulse that came out of nowhere. At the end of day three, he wasn’t feeling it, but I became engaged and excited. It was the start of something I had been seeking for a very long time. I liked and photographed the piece and it ignited sparks and impulses that continue to this day.
The current phase of my artistic growth has been the further loosening of the demands for functionality and precision that remain from my years as a woodworking professional. I am using the skills, tools, and materials from that previous life to make sculptural works that, in form and content, speak to threats to democracy and the environment."
