From imperfections to wooden art
- Peter creates artistic and functional vessels from wood
- Respect for the material and its natural imperfections lie at the heart of his work
- His creations honour the natural world and the forests around him
After a successful career as a geologist, Peter Jacobson took a recreational bowl making class and fell in love with the craft. His unique background has had a profound impact on the aesthetic and artistic process he has developed, where natural forms dominate. Peter sources wood locally and creates eye-catching, functional and lasting vessels. “My goal is to give a second life to the tree after it has died,” he says. Peter uses the lathe to transform wood and is inspired by nature and the imperfection of the material. He challenges himself in dealing with voids, knots, worm holes and bark inclusions. “I look at them as features that highlight the organic essence of wood,” he says.
INTERVIEW
I am bound to tradition through my quest to create forms that have balanced proportions, simple flowing curves, and that delight the eye and hand. At the same time, I like to think of bowls as objects that can be both decorative and artistic pieces.
I learned early on that a bowl is much more than a simple vessel for holding food or other objects. It has numerous design characteristics that define whether that bowl successfully transcends being a simple vessel into one that has elegance, tactile comfort and visual satisfaction.
In my art, I see an opportunity for people to maintain connection with the natural world. The underlying message is one of respect for nature, and recognition that humankind’s health and integrity are indelibly linked to the stability and health of the natural world around us.
Much of the wood I source as a raw material is hyper-local, that is, from trees that are felled in the community where I live. These hardwoods include black walnut, varieties of maple, and cherry, which are native to this area of Pennsylvania.
