Wood turner Les Brandt from Huntsville in the north-west corner of Arkansas came to The Gallery at Pioneer Bluffs with a wonderful and sometimes astonishing series of recent work. Many of his pieces are created to allow the viewer to appreciate both the visual and tactile qualities of the form and are meant to be handled.

“As an artist,” says Brandt, “I celebrate having the time and ability to create works in which I explore form and textures. The wood I use comes from where I find it, not from a store, but from logged areas (where I find real treasures amongst the leavings), from woods that are damaged as for instance by the 2009 Arkansas ice storm, or from areas where trees have been cleared for property development. I want people to appreciate the beauty of our native woods. Yet, I don’t want my art to come at the expense of the environment.” Brandt also uses wood he finds along the road, or even on firewood piles.

Ton Haak,
Matfield Green, September 2012