Carving His Niche
By Marshall GordonPhoto by Rimas Zailskas
“Everything I’ve learned about the world I’ve learned from the wood,” says Stoney Lamar, as he carefully examines a large burl of virgin wood in his Saluda studio. Stoney creates strikingly beautiful figurative sculptures using a wood lathe, a special skill that places him among a lofty and exclusive handful of wood sculpting artisans who have mastered the lathe as a carving tool.
That’s not to say Stoney immediately began to use a lathe in an unconventional manner. He studied woodworking in the industrial arts program at Appalachian State in the mid 1970s and planned to be a furniture maker.
He discovered his inner voice in 1979. “I borrowed a friend’s lathe and just basically fell in love with it. It was a pretty early recognition on my part that it was more suited to the way I thought. It was kinetic, a right-side brain kind of activity; furniture making is more about fitting things together and it’s more of a left-brain type activity that I just didn’t enjoy. The dance of the lathe, the movement and rhythms involved in the process really spoke to me,” says Lamar.
He began by making wooden kitchen utensils and accessories and learning the basics of turning wood. He took classes at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in 1983 where he met wood sculptor and woodturning pioneer Mark Lindquist, who offered Stoney an apprenticeship the following year.
It became clear to Stoney that he could do things on a lathe that were more expressive of his personality than the construction of common household items. “It was where I started to develop thoughts that I still carry about the lathe. My approach was totally different. I started to develop techniques that really turned the lathe into a carving tool.”
The turning point, he says, was the desire to break “the tyranny of round objects” that lathes impose on most users. The result is a body of work that stands apart — stark, simple, contemporary.
The son of an Episcopalian minister, his influences are complex and deep. Work on an early series of suspended vessel forms, he says, prefigured the idea that meaning transcends containment. He was deeply moved by his encounter with Navajo cliff dwellings. And work with people in clinical settings has helped him visualize cosmologies that exist outside of the mainstream.
A firm believer in the truth to materials concept, his work pays subtle homage to sculptors who define the movement. Yet, the forms and textures in Stoney’s sculptures are clearly his own.
He is at the forefront of innovating multiple axis lathe techniques which, when added to his innate understanding of his material and ability to visualize static forms on a constantly turning kinetic object, let him carve his contemporary sculptures in a style no other wood sculptor can duplicate.
Geometry also figures in his designs. “I like the idea of assembling geometric forms. It’s like music. A single note means nothing; when you string notes together, you have a melody. The same is true with my sculpture. Sometimes a single geometric form doesn’t mean anything. I like the idea of intersecting forms and how different curves relate to each other. And the lines — when you have two different curves, the line that develops where two curves meet can be really interesting. And I can see that.”
And that’s what intrigues John Cram, of Blue Spiral 1 Gallery in Asheville where Stoney exhibits his work. “Lamar’s unusual wood turning efforts are often imperceptible to the eye. The sweeping arches and turning center points move fluidly over the surface of his objects, always pleasing the eye. This technique stands him alone in the wood turning world,” says Cram. “The fairly recent addition of steel to his work propels Lamar’s artistic uniqueness to a national level for sculptural and wood turning collectors alike. We are honored to have him and his work in Western North Carolina.”
Many of Stoney’s recent sculptures approach human scale. But they’re tougher to carve off the lathe — just think of a spinning propeller.
Whatever the size, all are sandblasted then painted with four coats of milk paint whose formula dates back to the Colonial Era, giving his sculptures a special stone-like quality. Stoney also incorporates steel inserts and supports that add a dimension of balanced tension, contributing to the dynamic movement, flight and spirited emotion so important in his work.
While his sophisticated and elegant sculptures have been displayed at many prestigious galleries and museums, including the Smithsonian, Stoney considers himself a simple man of the people. “I like making work for the masses. I sculpt for the masses. That’s not to say everyone can afford my sculptures, but they can enjoy them when they see them. Someone who says this piece is beautiful without evaluating it as art is the greatest compliment I can be paid.”
As the Lathe Turns
There aren’t many sculptors who would even attempt to use the lathe as a carving tool, but Stoney Lamar has the technique down cold. The reward is substantial — traditionally static forms come alive with a simultaneous sense of movement, balance and tension.
Through April 28, Stoney and 18 other regional artists will be represented in an exhibit called Pursuing Excellence at Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville. The gallery also has a permanent collection of Stoney’s work.
Blue Spiral 1, 38 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC, 1-800-291-2513, bluespiral1.com
There aren’t many sculptors who would even attempt to use the lathe as a carving tool, but Stoney Lamar has the technique down cold. The reward is substantial — traditionally static forms come alive with a simultaneous sense of movement, balance and tension.
Through April 28, Stoney and 18 other regional artists will be represented in an exhibit called Pursuing Excellence at Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville. The gallery also has a permanent collection of Stoney’s work.
Blue Spiral 1, 38 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC, 1-800-291-2513, bluespiral1.com
© 2007 Planet Zeus Media, LLC
