Mike Moulthrop works at the custom-made lathe.
Mike Moulthrop works at the custom-made lathe.IF YOU GO* What: Learning the Curve: The Artistry of Matt Moulthrop.* Where: Museum Center at Five Points, 200 E. Inman St., Cleveland, Tenn.* When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays through Nov. 15.* Admission: $5 adults, $4 senior adults and students, free for children under 5.* Information: www.museumcenter.org.
When Auburn University’s iconic Toomer’s Oaks were destroyed by a herbicide-wielding University of Alabama fan three years ago, woodturner Matt Moulthrop was already envisioning a way to permanently extend the life of the beloved trees even as Auburn fans were mourning their loss.
Moulthrop, the third of three generations of Moulthrop men who are wood turners extraordinaire, reached out to Auburn trustee Jim Gorrie, who happens to collect Moulthrop family work, and asked how to obtain a piece of those oaks. Gorrie put him in contact with Marilyn Laufer, director of the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, who commissioned Moulthrop to create a piece that is now on permanent display in the museum.
The work was so important to Moulthrop, he made the trip to Auburn to handpick the wood he wanted. His finished tribute, “The Auburn Bowl,” is 26 inches in diameter and 15 inches in height. It is unique in that Moulthrop retained a bit of bark at its top, which he calls the “window inside the tree.”
An exhibit of the youngest Moulthrop’s work is on display at The Museum Center at Five Points in Cleveland, Tenn., until Nov. 29. It contains more than 30 pieces of art drawn from Moulthrop collectors around this region.