Orb

Orientation: on base
Shape: sphere
Type: wood sculpture
Date Created: Spring 2023 (approximate)
Feature: void
Finish: shellac and hard wax
Origin Story: Dogwood was a gift from the sculpture studio owner on the artist’s very first night of sculpture class. The owner had a tree taken out and saved the wood but had too much for his own purposes. When he learned the artist was a woodworker, he offered some. Three chunks were taken. The rot in the middle of this piece made it difficult to work with — and that rot became the void.
Material Source: Gifted by sculpture studio owner, first night of class. Salvaged dogwood from a tree removed from the studio owner’s property.
Story: I tried to make the wood into a hard geometric shape. We experience wood in straight lines and hard shapes—tables and chairs. So it almost seemed like a return to the log to make a sphere from it. The natural void breaches the geometry, refusing total control.
Dimensions: ~4 inches round
Status: Complete. Still in artist’s possession.

Materials

void Hollow interior space, opening into the form what opens when you stop filling yourself, revelation, emergence
closed form Self-contained form that doesn't need anything external self-sufficiency, autonomy, completeness

damage-as-material 2026-03-10T16:56:05.979Z The damage was the material all along. Not damage overcome, not damage redeemed, not beautiful-despite-broken. The rot is the color. The void is the form. The chainsaw scar is the first mark in a collaboration the chainsaw did not know it was starting. Damage is not precondition; damage is content.
becomingness The quality of being in passage between states. Not before, not after—during.
reclamation The quality of returning to yourself after being lost or taken.

material-against-expectation Working opposite to what the material wants. Wood becomes spherical, stone becomes soft, HydroCal becomes organic, clay gets carved like stone.