Travis Clayton

My artistic background began with pottery many years ago, I then studied glass blowing at UTA and SiNaCa glass, and eventually got into woodworking out of necessity. I began experimenting with casting hot metal into natural voids in wood to create a unique contrast of two very different materials in a single piece. I find artistic beauty in embellishing flaws in wood such as rot or cracks, with polished metal, rather than trying to hide them. Wood is one of the few art mediums that was once a living organism, so it comes with flaws, much like people. I became fascinated with figuring out ways to make flawed, rejected, or rotten wood beautiful and useful again, giving it another life and purpose beyond the one it once lived. I was inspired to purchase a lathe after talking with a woodturner at Main Street Arts festival several years ago and have been hooked ever since. My technique usually involves pouring molten pewter into natural, or intentional voids in wood, then polishing it to a mirror finish to contrast with the natural colors and grain of the wood. I developed this technique through trial and error, and made many mistakes in the process. I use other metal techniques as well, like wire wraps, and “cold casting” brass or copper shavings into wood. Much of my work is turned on a lathe, drawing from my experience in pottery and glass, but I do flat pieces as well. My work primarily consists of bowls, goblets, drinkware, bottle stoppers & bottle openers, charcuterie boards, custom wood signs, live edge tables, pens, and tool handles. I am currently a member of the Woodturners of North Texas, and have recently started demonstrating of my pewter inlay technique for my club and other local woodturning clubs.
My mission is to make beautiful artwork unlike anything else made.