Neil Super

Neil Super

Shepherdstown, WV 25443
Website: http://www.tworiversturnings.com/index.html

I create my art because I value the shared wonder I feel when I successfully express associations between the beauty of the natural world and human living. I take inspiration from my sensate and intellectual experience of trees and wood, and the sheer joy I feel when using turning tools. Based on environmental concerns, I generally eschew the use of exotic species; rather, I use domestic hardwoods that I have responsibly harvested or otherwise up-cycled. I thus spend countless hours in the woods, combing through burn piles, and making personal connections with people who know of available wood, which often comes with a story behind it that I am eager to tell. I seek out wood that has “character”; this loaded term can include unusual or intense figure and color, remarkable circumstances as to its origin, placement, or availability, features that some consider “defects” or “flaws,” or a combination of such factors. Often the wood I harvest is fresh cut and green, which means several years may pass before I actually use it. My art thus makes me feel in tune with, and connected to nature; happily it makes me feel the same way about people with whom I share it. I feel adventuresome and original when I create, but also humbled. Creating art makes me feel like I am growing as a person, and sometimes makes me feel a sense of spirituality I have not found elsewhere.