Playful experimentation
- Benedikt Maria only works with green wood
- He uses special techniques to sand and paint the wood
- The final shape is led by the raw material
Benedikt Maria Bohlinger is the third generation in a family of master carpenters. Raised in his parents’ workshop surrounded by wood, inevitably he trained as a carpenter. However, wood turning was not part of his training and for many years not even part of his daily work. “It was the urge to break free from the overly standardized world of furniture making that ultimately led me to wood turning,” he explains. Driven by his intuition Benedikt refined his skills in workshops with masters such as Mike Tingey and Peter Hromek, and continued to develop his unique aesthetic that sets his works apart today.
Discover his work
INTERVIEW
Working with fresh wood is extremely different from what I had been doing before. I wanted to know how the material would react, what possibilities are contained in it that are revealed during the drying process.
The general idea is to create vessels that are as thin and translucent as possible, with wall thicknesses of 2-3 mm and diameters of up to 70 cm. It is that combination of fragility and size that is so appealing.
Green wood cannot be sanded with regular sandpaper, therefore I had to develop a new sanding technique with a lot of water and special sandpaper. I also had to develop a special colouring process where the paint is applied to the still wet wood.
It is the final treatment. Every piece is varnished the traditional way with the cup gun and a 2-component, highly durable lacquer. The final varnish is applied in about 12 to 15 layers and usually takes almost 14 days.
Benedikt Maria Bohlinger
Woodturner
Marpingen, Germany
Recommended by Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
PHONE
+49 1717272487
LANGUAGES
German, English
