Mary Doornbos, artist
Join Salmagundi Gallery artists throughout October for Bound to Nature, an exploration of the intersection of creativity and the natural world. Eight artists—including Mary Doornbos and Thomas Irven who are new to the gallery—will exhibit works that use materials of the Southern Appalachians such as wood, clay, vines, fiber and beeswax. Additional participants are Kiki Farish, Jason Hartsoe, Mary Leavines, Mike McKinney, Amanda Yoder, and Stick Candles.
A member of Southern Highland Craft Guild, Thomas Irven began working with wood in 1987, though since 1998 he has focused mainly on woodturning. “My designs, inspired by nature and my imagination, grow out of an inherent respect for the rarity and the aesthetic qualities of the wood,” he says. “I have also developed and expanded innovative techniques for adding a sense of movement to my turned forms. Most of my pieces appear off balance which creates a sense of movement in space.”
Eggplant Boxes. Thomas Irven, artist
His work for Bound to Nature includes containers inspired by eggplants, mushrooms and acorns. “The knowledge that my objects delight their owners by providing visual and tactile pleasure, and by being sometimes functional, brings me real joy,” says Irven.
Mary Doornbos creates Appalachian-style ribbed baskets using natural vines and fibers. She served as craft shop manager at the John C. Campbell Folk School for more than 20 years, where she still presents Wild Winter Vine Basketry classes.
She became aware of split white oak baskets and the ribbed basketry structure after moving to Tennessee in 1980. “Knowing I would not be able to have the time for that labor-intensive process with white oak due to a full-time career in craft marketing, I began harvesting honeysuckle and grapevine to combine with rattan I purchased and dyed,” she says. “Forty-three years later, I continue to love making baskets, experimenting with natural materials. Being a maker grounds me. Walking in the woods or pasture to gather the vines I use always inspires my creative process.”
When Mike McKinney used a cheap lathe he had bought to scoop a piece of wood into the semblance of a bowl, he showed the result to his partner and asked her if she thought that he could learn to make a bowl. She remarked that she thought he already had. “This was my beginning quest for the perfect bowl, and I’ve not found it yet,” McKinney says. More than 30 years later, he turns bowls, lidded bowls, ornaments and, he adds, “most anything round.”
Besides searching for the elusive perfect bowl, he creates with the goal of bringing enjoyment to others. “I want them to pick my work up, feel the wood, the grain variances, and then believe it’s good work by a craftsman who cares,” says McKinney.
The artists express satisfaction in being represented by Salmagundi Gallery. “It is a great space, and every time I go into the gallery it looks like a different space,” Irven says. “Jerry [Jackson, the owner] seems to know how to rearrange the space to make the visitors—that hopefully will become buyers—feel like there are always new works to see.”
Salmagundi Gallery is at 136 North Main Street, Waynesville. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more at SalmagundiGallery.com.
