Friday reception opens Roger Harvey's woodworking exhibit

In-Town Gallery Contributed Photo / Roger Harvey makes clocks from ash, mahogany, walnut and bird's-eye maple woods.
In-Town Gallery Contributed Photo / Roger Harvey makes clocks from ash, mahogany, walnut and bird's-eye maple woods.

During the month of December, woodworker Roger Harvey will display his approach to designing and creating with wood in the featured exhibit "Metamorphosis: Creating with Wood" at In-Town Gallery, 26-A Frazier Ave.

"Metamorphosis" will open with an artist's reception on Friday, Dec. 6, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Dramatic bowls are combined with his original designs for items such as clocks, music stands and jewelry chests in Harvey's exhibit.

"I view my work with wood as a form of dialogue between my ideas for the piece I want to create and the unique qualities that lie within the wood," says Harvey. "When I begin working, I don't always know what's there. Problems and opportunities will present themselves. I must be open to the unexpected."

Harvey works on his lathe with locally sourced woods such as maple, walnut, cherry, hackberry and Bradford pear. He often ages freshly cut wood in conditions that encourage fungi that cause rot to grow in the wood. This process, called spalting, stains the wood with complex lines and streaks.

Harvey, who has made artisanal objects all his life, received a BFA from the University of Texas at Austin. Driven by his sense of design and love of differing materials, he worked as a potter and teacher on Cape Cod for 11 years and a goldsmith in Boston for eight. After relocating to Chattanooga to do technical development in the jewelry industry, he joined In-Town Gallery as a potter, though he now works exclusively with wood.

"Metamorphosis-Creating with Wood" will remain on view through December. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. For more information: 423-267-9214.

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