Salusbury Studios Limited

Imagining...Feeling...Creating...Enjoying...Living

My Craft & I

Turning wood on a lathe is a subtractive process. By removing material from a solid mass I release the envisaged form from within. Wood is a bundle of tightly entwined, mostly linear, fibers exhibiting grain, figure and colour. Through shaping, carving, sanding and applying a finish I reveal wood as a warm, comforting material. By adding colour, texture, details and/or other materials I enhance the wood by introducing harmony or contrast. By assembling turned components, I create complex objects of beauty and/or function; the subtractively crafted pieces becoming an additive form. Anything is possible...!

Form / shape / proportion / aspect ratios

This gentle, seductive “calabash” form is derived from the shape of dried gourds used for centuries for storage. By altering proportions and/or the aspect ratio of the elements each piece becomes unique.

Positive and negative space

The positive space displaced by the greater form of this piece creates a sense of mass. The negative space inserted via the incised “exclamation mark” offers levity and contrast to the pieces statement.

Texture and Detail

In my “Centerpiece Dish” I incise and shape bead details to frame the polished, natural wood bowl then create contrast by texturing and ebonizing the beads resulting in a rich leathery look and feel. I employ similar effects in many of  my distinctive pieces.

Colour and other media

This series of works, titled “Crazy Baby”, was built around the inclusion of a polished cotton fabric quilt. I also employ dyes, paint, coloured pigments, gold and other foils, glass, stone, wire and other media to create an aesthetic statement.

Contrast and Harmony

By adding contrasting slender, tapered, angular legs and spire to the voluminous curved vessel form I create tension and “push/pull” emotion to this work. The natural and applied colours act in harmony.  

    1496 Sunset Drive, Cavan, Ontario, Canada  L0A-1C0      Phone: 705-277-3298     e-mail: mark@salusburystudios.ca