Location: Canada
I am a self-taught woodworker and turner. I have been operating as a full-time bowl turner for the last 16 years at my studio in the Mulmur Hills near Mansfield, Ontario.
Although I sell a number of pieces and take commissions through my studio, most of my sales are through The Dragonfly in Orangeville, the Guild Shop in Toronto, on Cumberland Street, the Village Gallery, Ryan Fine Arts & Craft in Conestoga, The Craft Alliance Delmar Gallery in St. Louis, MO, Circle Arts in Tobermorey and The Art Gallery of Ontario retail shop, in Toronto. A strong representation of my work over the last several years is available at www.artscolony.on.ca and at www.gallery.jlwgs.com.
While I have an increasing reputation for my unique “stick” bowls and vases, I have been making and selling chargers for many years. Most of my chargers have been made from recycled dock cedar from “Cottage Country”, Ontario. Recently, I have started making chargers in other woods such as wormy butternut, spalted maple and box elder.
My stick bowls and some of my carved pieces are primarily for visual enjoyment. However I have always felt that craft distiguished itself from art by having a functional component or at least an allusion to practicality. Without that it is sculpture or another form of conceptual art. A lot of my work is true craft and my chargers exemplify this more than most of my other pieces. They can be used individually or as a dinner set. They also have a secondary function in that they are nice to look at.
The method that I use for my "stick" vases and other pieces is concentric ring lamination. The process is hard to explain and easy to show. A visit to my website at www.artscolony.on.ca will provide a clearer picture. You may also visit the website that I constructed for the Craft Alliance to give a better understanding of my process: www.stickbowls.jlwgs.com.
For further information, please contact me at bpstudio@artscolony.on.ca.
Jim Lorriman
April, 2011
Each vase is made from sticks from the same species of tree.
Some pieces are made from single branches. These pieces are usually oriented and in sequential order - meaning that when the branch is cut to make the components of the vase, the orientation and sequence of each cut piece is maintained relative to the other parts of the branch. Patterns produced by a branch of spalted maple can be quite stunning when displayed in this way.
This piece is made from Ash sticks cut from the main stem of a fallen tree. The tree was fairly young - about 20 years old.
Ash was chosen for this piece as the year rings are very uniform. Using this feature some of the centers of the sticks were removed creating the effect oc being able to view the inside and outside of the piece at the same time.
This piece in Staghorn Sumac has a small amount of wood removed from a single column of sticks. Suma, like Ash, has a uniformity about it that lends itself to a repeating pattern
Lilac has many colours to it. This piece shows off some of them.
This piece is made from a single branch of spalted maple and is oriented and sequential. The wood was very rotten and had to be stabilized with epoxies.
“A Touch of Imagination”
“Echo Echo”
“Lilacian Emotions”
“Elemental”
