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2003 ITE Online Gallery Artist's Statement: Jamie Russell Furniture Maker, Canada Luke on A Limb Luke is the first creature to evolve out of my interest in using animal forms in furniture. I consider him my alter ego and, in many ways, his evolution reflects my development as a carver and as an artist. His character and appearance reflect the growth of my skill and aesthetic. This version grew out of a desire to strip the furniture side of the piece down to the essentials of function while increasing the narrative aspect of the piece. This train of development was the result of the critique I experienced at the Tempe Furniture Society Conference. Caraghana Pod Most of the vessels I do end up with crisp profiles defined by their rims. Their forms have their roots in function as vessels with handles to manipulate them. This piece is one of my favorites because it has the general profile to fit these functional roots but in a more organic form. While I think of all these vessels as my pod series this one looks most like it could be left over from the reproductive process of a tree. Pod with Tail This and the following piece were in my last pre-ITE series. Most of the pod series feature several lines circumscribing the piece and blending with the rim. With these bowls, I cut back the embellishment to the lines established by the rim and their logical extensions. With this one, I enjoy the humor created by the long tail. I see my figurative influences creeping back in, leading me to who knows what stretched and exaggerated creatures. Twisted to the Floor This is part of my ongoing experiment with the lines of the rim. It’s one of three vessels that explored twisting the sides of the rim over and under each other and pulling them down to the ground. Transition Table The seeds for this table were planted during my pre-fellowship ITE visit. I came back to Philly with a concept for a simple table and a desire to collaborate with Kevin Burrus. My initial contribution was the leg, a continuation of the floral forms I’d been using as structure on my furniture for some time. Kevin started the base as an extension of the cylindrical forms he’d been using. Rather than the straight cylinders and parts of circles he was used to he carved a pair of less than perfect cylinders interacting in an organic, sensual way. I had one look at his initial effort and was overcome with an urge to exploit this sensuality, especially where the two forms met. I more or less politely nudged Kevin out of the way and spent a large part of my first week exploring the interaction between these forms. This became my pivotal ITE experience. During the day I’d struggle with what I thought of as my real work, an extension of things I’d been developing for two years, using my full range of tools and reasoning my way through them. In the evenings, I’d relax into the base using mostly hand tools and relying on intuition. By the time we had the leg, base joined both Kevin, I had had enough of the piece, and we approached Thierry to handle the top. Discussion among us decided we needed something not too large or symmetrical that respected the limitations of the highly figured, short grain piece of carrillo we felt was the best material on hand for the job. I feel we successfully blended our three styles, learned lots and came up with the most innovative piece of the program. Little Bitty Twisty Bowl This was the last of four vessels I did between my ITE visit and my fellowship. I started this piece at home and finished it during my residency. I love these little guys because they pose all the problems of larger pieces but because they’re small, I can solve them more spontaneously. Not having to worry about a big chunk of expensive material or investing days of work into a piece is very liberating. Having grown up with the 30’s Depression Mentality, I also get a warm fuzzy every time I save an interesting piece of scrap from the fire. Walnut Twist This piece is a continuation of the twisty bowl series I’ve been working with off and on for almost two years. On one level, I do these forms as vessels instead of purely sculptural forms because my craftsman’s work ethic refuses to let go of that last vestige of function. On an aesthetic level, the enclosure of space gives the forms a feeling of mystery and ceremony. Creating and solving problems at an aesthetic level without regard for functional limitations like I do with the twisty bowls has resulted in better design solutions when I go back to furniture with its functional restrictions. I find my lines flow better and my overall designs are more organic and pleasing. Boat Bowl This is another continuation of a series. The previous pieces all had a figurative feature on the ends and some of them were balanced to give them a kinetic aspect. My original concept had these features, however, I couldn’t find the right figure and the ends were too high and the bottom to sharply rounded to balance. I went through several designs for the ends each one paring more wood off until I had the simple points of the final version. Similarly, when I realized the piece wouldn’t balance I started with a formal stand to present the bowl and shifted through progressively simpler designs until I had the minimal base you see. The ideas I rejected for this piece will be the seeds of future developments in the series, especially the “furniturey” stand I want to use to present the bowls. Big Lip Form I expect the form of this piece to have evolved from the shape I left it in. Mark Hancock started it as an experiment, a double-ended version of his tailed hollow forms. Since it was green and not hollow it checked half way through creating a design opportunity that fit perfectly with the lip shapes I’d been doing on the Transition Table. We put it in a culled base for the Boat Bowl to keep it from rolling off the table and it looked so good we left it there. When I left the plan was to have Thierry Martenon liven it up with texture. Kissy Fish This is an unapologetically frivolous experiment with one of Mark Hancock’s tailed hollow forms. Sometimes a good laugh or even a small smile is all the justification a piece needs. The Horn This piece filled out my studio time with the ITE. I had just enough time for one more piece. I decided to reverse my previous sequence of starting at the rim and letting the lines travel around the vessel to their logical ending in a spiral. With this one I started with the lines of the spiral and let them find their logical conclusion in the rim. As far as I’m concerned, the 2003 ITE was a success. If viewing these works give you, the audience, even a fraction of the pleasure I’ve had working with this great bunch of artists in the stimulating and challenging environment created for us, then it’s a huge success. Jamie RUSSELL Luke On A Limb, 2003 Pre ITE 26" x 14" x 14" Curly and Plain Big Leaf Maple JR 02 Sold Jamie RUSSELL Caraghana Pod, 2003 Pre ITE 5" x 2" x 2 1/2" Birch JR 03 Sold Jamie RUSSELL Pod with Tail, 2003 Pre ITE 15 1/2" x 3 1/4" x 2" Ash JR 04 $500 Next Page