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Artist, woodturner and builder of woodturning solutions
Sterling Heights, MI
email:
Dennis@DWMontville.com
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Artist Statement "Wood is one of the most expressive fundamental elements on earth. Once part of a living organism, it still expresses the echoes of that life captured within its fibers. This is the "voice" of the material. Engineering is the "voice" that humankind uses to express itself with works of visual and functional presence. My work combines both voices to create a harmony of natural and man-made beauty" |
| About My Tools | Tool Hardware | Available Items | Link to Sonic Discordance, my "other" web site under construction | Classes | Arrowmont |
Just updated January 10, 2010
New Piece Just Completed....
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Here is a new
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| Below are two photos of a piece I just listed on Etsy. You can see more on my Available Items page and on Etsy. Links to both are just below these photos. | |
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New things have been added to the Available Items page. I've also dropped the prices on several items I have on Etsy.
I've made two
slideshows of the AAW Symposium Instant Gallery. Here they are:
Slideshow #1
Slideshow #2
After getting back from the Ohio Valley Woodturner's Guild symposium, Turning 2009, I assembled a photo page from photos I took of the instant gallery and silent auction items. The page is link is here at
Don't forget to return to this page and check out the rest of the site when you're done. Remember, all photos will expand to large images by just clicking on them. Then just close the large photo page to continue viewing the rest of the photos. Let me know if anything doesn't work right so that I can fix it.
I made a new site
page called
Our
Town 2009
that includes photos of my entries to that show. Remember, every photo
will expand to a larger image if you click on it.
I've posted several videos on YouTube. Click the link you just read past to see them. Many are not on this site, so check them out.
My new Available Items link takes you to my items available from me directly and on Etsy.com.
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The end of the year is approaching. This has been an interesting one for me. As an automotive engineer (Former?) in Michigan I've found myself obsoleted and have tried to find another way to support myself. So far, I'm still looking. While I've been doing that I've been doing new woodturning work and I've been cleaning up my house and selling things that have no more purpose for me. My story isn't unique. I hope the New Year will be a turnaround year for me. While I'm waiting I'll be posting new work here and on Etsy. Check out my Available page to see what's new. Scroll all the way down the page to the end to see photos of a lamp that was commissioned by a friend for his father. The story of that lamp is included. Sometimes it's very interesting how life can work out. On Christmas Day I added some photos of the bowl I just finished for a Christmas gift. Scroll down to them.
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Artist's Statement:
I've finally updated the Classes page. I'm not done yet because I see that I want to update the descriptions a little, but at least I have current dates for the classes. I'm not ready to host private lessons in my studio yet but I'm working towards making the place presentable enough so that I can begin doing that soon. I continue to list things on eBay so please click here to see what I have listed.
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Here are two videos that I just finished. The one on the left shows the use of the tool bit sharpening block. The one on the right shows the turning tool being used. They are short and should be fun. Please let me know what you think of them. I'll be posting more soon. My email address is at the top of this page. |
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| I just made another video of my tool use. I was making a handle for a micro tool and decided to record a short video of some spindle turning. I hope you enjoy. |
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 \Here's a new video showing my tool in use. Be warned, it is a rather large video and will require a high-speed Internet connection to view. I hope you feel it's worth it. Let me know what you think of it. |
NEW WORK
Below are photos of the some recent work. Some of these are entered into shows and are not yet available for sale. Others are already sold. I'll keep you posted on shows that I've been accepted in. As work becomes available for sale I'll be updating the Available Pieces page.
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I
call this piece "Intrusion" $175 Artist Statement: An intrusion is usually considered to be a bad thing. But here the intrusion adds character, beauty and strength. Don’t always think of an intrusion as a negative. Give it time to show itself. You may be surprised and pleased. |
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This one is called "Life Menu" This one is made of Narra and measures 5 inches in diameter by 1 3/4 inches tall. It is the same piece I show being faced off in the upper right video above. It's come a long way, hasn't it? Available Artist Statement: When life presents choices you might consider all options in detail, giving careful consideration to every aspect. So many shapes and designs. How do you decide? Who ever said that you couldn’t choose them all? Take all that life has to offer. |
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Here is "Eclipse" This one is made of chechen, bubinga, oak, maple and narra with veneers. It measures 9 inches in diameter by 5 inches tall. Artist Statement: An eclipse is an exciting event. This piece captures some of that excitement with it's design and presentation. But it's the hidden feature seen when held to the light that truly captures the glow of the real thing. |
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"Black Tundra" This one is made of black locust with piercing. It measures 7 inches in diameter by 4 1/2 inches tall. Artist Statement: It was simply cold outside while I worked on this. The tundra came to mind, along with the black from the wood name. I incorporated black as a contrast to the void of piercings. The contradiction of a black tundra seem appropriate. |
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"Earth Wake" This one is made of mahogany, Brazilian cherry and veneer. It measures 9 1/2 inches in diameter by 2 1/2 inches tall. Artist Statement: As the earth spins it affects the space around it. I attempted to capture that feeling with this piece. |
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| Here's the piece I just finished on Christmas Eve, 2009. This is going to be a gift to the neighbors across the street from my dad. They take care of him and involve him in their life so much that I'm lucky for their concern and care. | |||
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This is a piece of elm that was turned
thin and then I used pyrography and acrylics to produce the detail areas you
see here. It measures about 6 1/4 inches in diameter and is about 3 inches
tall. Click on any photo to see a full-sized image in a new window. |
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Below are photos of the lamp I made for a client out of a prototype GM rotary engine cylinder and piston.
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The Story Behind This Lamp A good friend of mine is Mike Paradise. He is the Media Coordinator at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Back in the 70's I worked at the General Motors Tech Center. While there I had a friend that worked on the rotary engine development program and used to talk about his vacation home on Grand Cayman Island. I was working as a technician and did emissions tests on that engine with him. That guy was Mike Paradise's father, Bob Paradise. Flash-forward to today and a conversation that Mike and I had where he mentioned that a lamp that had been started as a retirement gift for his dad was never completed. It was to be made from a rotary engine block section and piston. This conversation was after my dad fell and broke his neck, which got Mike to think how fleeting life can be and made him wish he could finish that lamp while his father was still alive. I told him I'd like to do that for him and so he brought it in, along with the emblem that was made for the car that never actually got built. What you see in the photos is the completed lamp made with those parts. The shade frame is to be covered with some sort of material yet to be decided on. Mike wants to get that done himself so I just designed and made the frame. The only things Mike gave me was the metal parts of the engine and the shiny emblem. The base is from a larger board of curly bubinga. You should see it in person. It's really hard to get a truly good photo of it, but it has a lot of character. The small teardrop-shaped element that holds the emblem is reminiscent of 50's and 60's vintage futuristic designs from GM. |
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