I only use woods indigenous to Vancouver Island, usually big leaf maple, cedar or spruce. The logs are slabbed into boards which then air dry on my property. Each wood blank that I mount on my lathe is then turned several times to create the multi-axis look that you see. When the wood comes off the lathe it is ready for carving which is done with various rotary tools and hand gouges. Using light fast wood dyes for colouring is when the piece really starts to come alive.  Building the layers of colour up to create an old world, timeless quality is what I am out to achieve. I finally apply several coats of lacquer which deepens the colour and adds even more depth.

My interest in native art started in a high school art class but did not come to full fruition until I met renowned native artist Harris Smith in 1998. The native style art of the Pacific Northwest that Harris practiced has been an intregal part of my life ever since. Meeting Harris and subsequently collaborating with him for seven years pushed my woodturnings into a whole new world. I would turn the wood into the forms we wanted and Harris would paint his art onto these forms. After Harris' passing in 2005, I came up with an idea to turn the art into my own by carving the designs into the wood and giving them an old world timeless quality through the dyeing process. I also wanted the work to have a greater sense of depth so came up with the idea of not just turning the wood once on my lathe but turning it three or four times on a different axis each time, thus achieving a different perception of depth and my own unique voice at the same time.

Douglas J Fisher copyright © 2008 all rights reserved.