Jay McDougall

My raw materials are gathered locally in the form of logs from fallen trees. I have never felled a tree for the sole purpose of gathering material for my work. The tools I employ follow a progression of refinement that is reflective of the work in progress, beginning with logging equipment and culminating with my bare hands and wax.I rarely approach a log with a specific finished form in mind. Each one of them holds several forms that are only revealed by getting inside of it. Once there I travel with the material on a journey the goal being to not totally tame or break it, but to find a balance with the material. This is a point where the intrinsic beauty of the material and the mastery of my craft become blurred, as if they are one. I often carve varying textures on select surfaces of my pieces. This introduces an element of contrast which serves to enhance the presentation of the woodŠ—Ès figure as well as provide additional definition to the form. I strive for purity in my designs where less can be more, and have achieved the discipline required to resist overworking the material.