TOM MYERS
artist statement
My works were there all along, waiting for me to arrive.
As a child I observed and assisted a
wood sculptor father with his work.
This led to a lifelong appreciation of
form as abstraction and wood as a
warm flesh-like, complex, animate,
and beautiful medium.
At a point in my life when I had little
expectation of adding any new or
different outlets, a brain spark and a
chance exposure to a wood lathe
changed the dynamic, igniting a passion for form, balance and harmony borne of the axial geometry of work emerging from that tool.
From a metaphysical perspective, I believe that beauty and art are manifestations of quality and that quality lies at the pre-intellectual cutting edge of reality and is recognized before it can be conceptualized and explicated.
My enjoyment of and passion for my work originate in that pre-intellectual realm where sight, touch, smell and sound guide the interaction of artist, tool and medium as a work emerges. After that my work becomes increasingly conceptual as I view the work, decide on texture, additional media and finish.
I have attempted to challenge both my medium and myself by exploring possibilities that might lead to quality. This ongoing process has involved a variety of wood species; cultural themes; dimensional and textural surprises and incongruities; the addition of precious metals, acrylics and dyes; and other mixed media with an emphasis on fibers and fabrics including sea grass, linen, cotton cording, and burlap.
There is little ornamentation of line in my work and finished surfaces tend to be warm and refined but not glossy.