Hi, I am Nik, welcome to my website.
Geologist by trade, several years ago, in my
mid-40's I discovered that woodcarving
and wood sculpting gave me a lot of joy and
satisfaction. Having experimented for a while and
having tried various styles and techniques I
currently prefer to work with found wood
including roots, twisted branches, burls and
driftwood. As a geologist, I am used to see
harmony and beauty in simple natural objects,
e.g. minerals, rock formations and dead trees.
Found wood,
especially old weathered and spalted roots
provide unusual shapes and amazing weathered
wood textures and colours, making them
excellent media to work with.
I am trying to find "alive" pieces of wood. I see my role in enhancement of the natural sculpture expression and in finding a balance between the natural shape and desirable sculpture form.
I prefer to work with the native Western Australian hardwoods, mainly with eucalypts and acacias (see the Trees page for info on selected trees and timbers), just because I often work in a bush and have an opportunity to look for some interesting pieces. Most of these dried old timbers are hard as a hell, so I prefer to use power tools for roughing out my works. Even creating simple shape objects from dead wood gives me a joy of revealing beautiful colour and texture of wood hidden under the silver-coloured weathering cover. Wood pieces are meant to be touched, and feel of smooth and warm surface is another aesthetic pleasure of dealing with a wood sculpture. Therefore, I consider careful hand polishing of the surface as a critical part of the object making process.
Each piece takes a lot of physical work and, of course, creativity doubts, making it difficult to part with my "babies", so at the moment I consider this web project as non-commercial. However, I could accept a really good offer or commissions on some desirable objects or sculptures (nature permitted :). Any comments and constructive criticisms are welcome, please do not hesitate to contact me. Hope you enjoy my work!
In conclusion, I would like to share with you a few quotes on art expression which at some extent reflect my feelings:
"Carving is a source of joy to the artist. To attack the raw material, gradually to extract a shape out of it following one's own desire, or, sometimes, the inspiration of the material itself: this gives the sculptor great joy. In carving, material and thought are linked by the hand alone; thus the raw material is imbued with a warmth of feeling directly drawn from the artist's nature."
Aristide Maillol, French sculptor and painter (1861-1944)
"When you see a fish you don't think of its scales, do you? You think of its speed, its floating, flashing body seen through the water. Well, I've tried to express just that. If I made fins and eyes and scales, I would arrest its movement, give pattern or shape of reality. I want just the flash of its spirit."
"Things are not difficult to make; what is difficult is putting ourselves in the state of mind to make them."
Constantin Brancusi, Romanian sculptor (1876-1957)
"You do not make sculpture because you like wood. That is absurd. You make sculpture because the wood allows you to express something that another material does not allow you to."
Louise Bourgeois, French artist and sculptor (1911-)
