Here's My Woodcarving!
by Martin Antaramian
Kenosha, WI
Click on any picture to see a larger version.
I started woodworking at the age of 20 in an Introduction to Furniture Design course at UW Parkside. I graduated from there in 2011 with a MA in Studio Art with a concentration in sculpture. It wasn't until after graduating that I started to fuse furniture and sculpture into one. Every physical object has the potential to be a sculpture, whether it serves another purpose or not.
The inspiration for my current style of work comes from the movement of fabric. I woke up at 3am a few years ago with a vision in my head of a spinning dress carved out of wood. As I'd only done very geometric works in the past this was a whole new style and process for me. I start with two inch thick stock that is laminated together to create my forms. From there I start carving with a chainsaw blade on an angle grinder, then move to die grinders, then cabinet rasps and rifflers, and finally hand sanding. It took over a year for me to realize that dream which became Cherry Waltz.
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Cherry Waltz : Cherry wood
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Since then I have started playing with the form in different ways by carving into the table tops themselves or by making the carving appear to be actual fabric, which I did with the Mirage table.
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Mirage: Cherry wood with coppery inlays and
Maple wood table cloth painted white
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I enjoy making pieces out of wood which most people would not think possible: Forms that appear very delicate but remain very strong. Below are more of these pieces:
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Cherry Blossom : Cherry wood
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Cordial : Cherry wood
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Lily: Paduk and Maple wood
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Wave Clock : Cherry wood
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Black Waltz: Walnut wood
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Cherry Waltz II: Cherry wood
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You can email Martin at
martinantaramian@yahoo.com
. You can visit Martin's website at
www.martinantaramian.com
.
Would you like to see your carvings in this column? We invite you to
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favorite woodcarving projects along with captions and a brief history of your woodcarving. (Email
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future issue!
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