Bill and Tina Collison

Wood

Bill Collison’s early days in his father’s workshop and Tina Collison’s interest in decoy carving fueled their interest in wood as the medium for their endeavors. They both viewed wood as strong, solid, substantial, and lasting...all great qualities as a medium for artwork. Wood is warm and tactile; it yearns to be held, rubbed and touched.

Trees downed by storms, age, disease, or in the path of progress, provide us with an ample supply of raw material. Bill turns burls, natural edged bowls and platters; Tina creates the surface embellishments by carving, piercing, burning and coloring designs on the turned pieces, moving the work from high quality craft into Art.

A piece of wood on the lathe serves as a blank canvas would for a painter. The various chisels and embellishment tools are the pigments and brushes. Unlike the painter or potter who may rework a flaw in their work, working with wood on the lathe is a one-way process. Disappointments or errors in form or technique are usually final; that piece finds its way to the "designer firewood pile."

Their work has been influenced by exposure to many mentors through their membership in numerous artistic associations over the past 14 years. They were granted membership in the Southern Highlands Craft Guild in 2009. Their work has been juried and received awards in numerous juried exhibitions.

Wood has a mysterious quality as a medium that fuels our curiosity as artists. Each piece is like opening a thriller novel where the plot is only revealed in the final pages. Solving these mysteries provides us pleasure and inspiration and is the driving force in our work.