Feature Artist: Jim Brandon

By Gina Malone

At first consideration, sailmaking and wood sculpting may appear to have little in common. But wood sculptor Jim Brandon credits lessons learned as a trained professional sailmaker for the style his wood creations exhibit today. “Sailmaking (and also boat hulls) require the use of very fine curved lines,” Brandon says. “I believe sailmakers are part artists and part fine craftsmen. They are always looking at the 3D shapes of the sails and designing/building, utilizing lines, shapes and ‘fair curves.’ I always look at the curves, lines and profiles of my sculptures thinking of these terms—definitely not to make sail shapes but to incorporate the smooth, fair lines into my artwork.”

Brandon traces his beginnings in working with wood to his middle school years. He knows how to create functional items with wood, but this was not the path he chose when he took up wood again about eight years ago. “My sculptures are not intended to have any functional use,” he says. “They may, at first glance, infer the shape of a bowl, vase or urn, but they are sculptures—more intended to be viewed first at a distance, as a profile or silhouette.”

Working at the lathe in his Pisgah Forest workshop gives him time to let his thoughts roam. The wood pieces are, to him, like jewels that are enhanced by presentation. “I know when I turn a new piece, I am also considering how it will be mounted,” Brandon says. “Not just sit on the shelf, but stand out as a complete work.”

He and his wife raised their two children in the mountains of Colorado and then in a sailboat in Florida. “I discovered the Appalachians when I took an early retirement and spent three months riding my bicycle solo across the country,” he says. “When I got back, this is where we moved. And what an absolute bonus to find the forests full of the most amazing collection of hardwoods! Raw materials. Oaks, hickory, walnut, maple, cherry and more all growing out there and waiting to become art.”

He admits to a love/hate relationship with the lathe. “It always wants to create symmetry,” he says. “Think: bowl. I strive to create asymmetry, so we’re often at odds.” He likes best working with green, or wet, wood—wood, that is, from freshly fallen trees. “When working with wet wood, if I shape it thin enough, it will warp and move, and create more dynamic movement in my sculptures,” he says.

The downing of so many trees during Hurricane Helene provided a bounty of raw material for wood artists. “I did a Helene series of sculptures from storm-downed trees, which seemed appropriate,” Brandon says. “I find inspiration is everywhere if I’m paying attention.”

His steps for each piece, after finding and sawing the logs, include pre-planning that helps him decide which features of a piece of wood to keep (bark rims, embedded bark inclusions or strategic voids, for instance), shaping and hollowing with the lathe, sanding and smoothing the curves by hand, sometimes coloring and dyeing, then putting the piece into the kiln for a couple of days for drying. “After drying in the kiln the piece gets its finish coats—typically oiled and hand rubbed, or some type of clear gloss, and buffed,” Brandon says. “Now it’s ready for mounting.”

The mounting, he says, takes his sculptures to the next level, showcasing the turned pieces and making them works of sculptural art recognizable as his own. “I often use mountain laurel branches both to support and present the piece, maybe cantilevered to appear off balance, or tilted to create a feeling of movement,” he says. “I’ve used barbed wire as a contrast to the smooth warmth of the wood. Sometimes I use textured block, dry-brushed to create color contrast. It all depends on what makes sense during the creative process.”

Fellow artist at Number 7 Arts Mike Wurman appreciates the painstaking process Brandon employs, which comes through in the look of every sculpture. “Jim’s work is phenomenal,” he says. “Every piece is truly one of a kind—real art that you don’t fully appreciate until you hold it in your hands and study it up close. He doesn’t simply turn a piece on the lathe and call it finished; he continually pushes himself and his craft further, elevating each creation to the next level.”

Brandon derives satisfaction from both the physical and the mental aspects of his work. “It is a dirty process,” he says. “A 40-pound log might make a five-pound sculpture—which equates to a lot of shavings and wood dust.” But then comes the creative thought process. “For each project, I have to pick a piece that resonates with a general shape and direction I feel like working,” he says. “Then I look for things in that log that might give special character; maybe it’s the way the bark looks, or if there are voids or flaws that might add interest without looking like they are flaws or causing distractions for the finished work. This comes from years of trial and error setting up the orientation on the lathe.

And, sometimes I absolutely hate the direction a piece goes, but I keep going, and often end up loving where it ends up. But I think that is part of the artistic process in general.”

Learn more at BrandonWoodStudios.com, on Instagram @JimBrandon0905 or by calling 727.317.8770. Find Jim Brandon’s work at regional galleries including Number 7 Arts, 2 West Main Street, in Brevard.