About my work

​

My use of the wood lathe to create decorative art comes from its great versatility in creating form from wood.  But more than that, it offers me the opportunity combine another discipline, veneer work, to turned objects, which I refer to as ringed bowls, mosaic plates, and framed mosaics.

 

Ringed bowls are composed of layers of wood, separated by complimentary colored veneer.  This gives the bowl an uninterrupted profile, yet it adds interest to what might otherwise be a simple form by inserting one or more bands of color.

 

Geometric art is one of the earliest forms of decoration on objects of daily use. Wood veneer, with its ability to reflect light differently according to the orientation of its grain, is a wonderful medium for presenting traditional geometric motifs in an interesting and uncommon way.  By placing veneer mosaics at the center of a round wooden plate, they are both framed and presented to the light in such a fashion that they shimmer, or appear to move as you change your orientation to them and to the light that they reflect. I hope you find them as delightful as I do.

 

James Robert Goforth

​