Michael Bauermeister

My current work explores natural textures and themes by interpreting them in carved, painted wood, using techniques I have developed over 35 years as a woodworker. The hewn surface of wood, with its repeated tool marks, can suggest many patterns in the natural world. From pebbles on a beach to leaves on a tree, from waves on the water to the cells that make up all of life, the world is made of discreet marks that come together as a textured surface. By adding color with stains and tinted lacquer, I try to suggest the different rhythms of our world.

I like tool marks with rhythm.  I like layers of paint that tell a story that ends in the depth of wood.  I strive for simple forms that exist on the edge between abstraction and representation, somewhere between artifact and specimen.  My carvings are recordings of the days when I worked on them.  The wood remembers what I was thinking about better than I do.

From American Craft Magazine June/July 2003, written by Joyce Lovelace:

Michael Bauermeister’s wood sculptures capture the wonders of the natural world he loves: pebbles on the shore, a twist of vines, ripples on the water, and a canopy of leafy tree branches come to life on the soulful surfaces of his carved vessels and wall panels and seem almost to move if you gaze long enough. Their rich colors range from forest greens and the deep browns of fertile soil to orangey golds and yellows so citrusy you can almost taste them.