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Biography

During my time in art school I experimented with quite a few things; Ceramics, metal, rubber, plaster, dirt, fabric and such. It's hard to beat wood. The stuff is warm to the touch, very strong, beautiful, and each piece is completely unique.

One winter a heavy storm took down some massive trees around my school campus. I used the green oak and maple to carve spoons, spatulas, small bowls and other things from the green wood.

After returning to the Seattle area from Philadelphia my Dad offered a garden shed for a work space. I bought an old wood lathe and found it was a perfect way to create useful things from firewood rounds. Several months later I quit my job as a landscaper / estate gardener and proceeded to turn thousands of wooden salad bowls, rolling pins, and tens of thousands of toy spinning tops.

I've demonstrated at the two largest woodturning Syposiums in the US: The Utah Symposium and the AAW National Symposium. I've taught turning to private clients and in our local high school. I've sold for many years at the most prestigious craft show in the USA - The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show - as well as my local Vashon Island Farmer's Market and many other venues around the country.

Making a living as a craftsperson is extremely difficult in this time of mass production. It's a result of competing with automation and marketing to a population where so many of us are disconnected from our ability to create with our hands. This leaves many with a lack of appreciation for hand made objects - and a lack of respect for what it takes to create them day after day. In most cases these folks do not know what they are missing.

I am incredibly grateful for everyone who has supported my work. It brings me so much joy to happen upon the things I have made holding places of honor in the homes of my friends and neighbors. I am also indebted to those few who share this struggle. I could not have done it with out the camaraderie, the friendships, the boundless support of the other makers who keep these crafts alive.

1982 - Born - Houston, TX

2000 - Graduated from high school in Bellevue, WA.

2004 - Graduated from the Stella Elkins Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA

2009 - Relocated from Seattle to Vashon Island


© 2024 David Earle