John Harden Design

My specialty is hand selecting domestic and imported woods to create decorative and functional wood turned pieces that highlight the woods natural beauty, color and grain texture. In my artwork I use segmented techniques as well as solid sculpture turnings. Segmenting is the art of cutting and gluing dry hardwood lumber into geometric patterns to create a turning blank. Once the glue is cured they are ready to turn on the lathe. Solid sculpture turnings start with harvesting local hardwoods that need to be removed due to storm damage or dangerous conditions. These large wet blocks of wood are cut to manageable sizes with a chainsaw. As soon as possible before drying and cracking occurs they are rough turned on the lathe to the general shape desired. After they are rough shaped they are sealed and set aside to dry slowly. This process can take several months to a year depending on size. Once dry they are remounted on the lathe and hand shaped to their final form.