“The first time I saw a woodturner, I was in 7th grade,” says Robert Gray. “I was in Oregon, along the coast, on a family vacation. I remember we stopped at one of those shops that said ‘See the woodturner.’ I was just awe-struck by watching this guy turn a bowl on the lathe. I was fascinated.”
That fascination stayed with him. Now, at age 55, Robert is a master at the art of finely turning wood to create magnificently elegant aspen vessels. With collectors of his work worldwide, Robert’s love of his art, his life, and his deep appreciation for nature shows in every piece he creates.
“It’s not at all mechanical. I guess you could say it’s spiritual. It’s feeling.”
“The wood itself, if I select a beautiful piece, is art in itself. Then, I add the form to bring it out. It takes what I can do and what nature has done. It takes that combination.”
A look at the nearly translucent vessels (walls approximately ¼ inch thick), and you see not only the wonderful color and form, you also sense something nearly inexplicable. It’s as if you actually feel the intuitiveness the artist who created the piece must have had when sculpting it.
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Working with only wind-fallen aspen, Robert is ardent about protecting the mountain wilderness. “I just salvage a tiny little piece of that which I can preserve as an art object that maybe somebody else can enjoy. The rest of the tree goes right back into the Earth. Even all the shavings (resulting from sculpting on the lathe) are taken to a local nursery for mulch. Nothing is thrown away.”
His devotion to the environment and humanity has found him working and volunteering for the Forest Service, Habitat for Humanity, and serving as past president of the Trout Unlimited chapter.
“I've been in the mountains all my life. It’s home. It’s my whole life. I don’t think I could live anywhere else,” he expresses, the joy of fulfillment in his voice.
Yet, it has been a gradual process requiring perseverance to get him to this point in life. From degrees in forestry and industrial arts woodworking, to working as a builder, teacher, and in fine cabinetry, Robert’s love of wood, mountain living, and artistic creation has resulted in the life he and his wife of 29 years, Marjie, now share in Buena Vista, Colorado.
“There’s something out there that pulls all this together,” he says, commenting on how a blown muffler brought them to Buena Vista over 24 years ago. “We were camping up Chalk Creek, it was a Sunday, and I blew my muffler out on this old Scout,” and by the time the repair was made, they realized this was a town they had not sent application to for a teaching position. Once they came, they never left. With his wife and daughter, they built their dream home in a place of inspiration for them all.
As owners of the Trembling Aspen Gallery and Studio (321 West Main Street in Buena Vista, Colorado), they welcome visitors, who can enjoy the experience of watching Robert woodturning on the lathe from behind a glass window within the gallery. Marjie, and award winning American history and government teacher, is one of the keys to Robert’s success and has influenced him greatly.
She’s always pushing me to do more; to promote myself; and to do more of my art. She’s a real supporter that way, and really helpful in getting me in shows and promotion. I would say the primary reason I’ve been able to do what I’ve done is because of my wife. She’s always supported me. It’s been a perfect relationship.”
Saying the best time of his life is “right now,” Robert’s philosophy can be summed up by the virtues of honesty, hard work, and perseverance. His advice: “Really stick to it. I’ve never given up. I want to keep on the track we’re on and expand on what we’re doing. Exciting things happen.”
The beautifully crafted vessels he sculpts weigh only a few ounces when finished, though they begin as aspen blanks of 100+ pounds. The meticulous process includes selecting suitable fallen trees in the woods, rolling them out, curing (which takes many months), sculpting on the lathe, sanding, and finishing. A minimum 40-50 hours work is required per piece.
“If I find a real good piece, it’s taken me up to a week to get the pieces out (from the forest). It’s just pure muscle and sweat. Primarily, I work alone. That’s another neat part of it … just being out there. I’ll section them up into big round blocks and just roll them. When you get a good one, it’s worth a lot of work to get it out. But, I never drive around in the woods or drag them out with chains or bulldozers or anything. When I’m done, you wouldn’t hardly know where I’ve been.”
“It’s all exciting. It’s all a transition from the very beginning to end.” With showings and awards from across the country, Robert says one of the most exciting times is “when somebody walks into the gallery who has never heard of me, probably doesn’t know a thing about woodturning, and sees a finished piece on a pedestal. Their eyes light up; they’re drawn to it like a magnet. They’ve discovered something that just touches them. They touch it. They hold it. It’s just something they love.”
Robert is truly an artisan whose creativity is “in his blood,” and he’s a man who enjoys sharing his work with others. Visitors to Trembling Aspen Gallery and Studio in Buena Vista, Colorado can enjoy his work, the work of other local artists, and a great selection of fly fishing paintings, etchings and other related items.
Robert can be reached at the gallery and studio; or at P.O. Box 1451, Buena Vista, Colorado, 81211; phone (719) 395-4800; email robert@tremblingaspen.com; or visit his studio Website at www.tremblingaspen.com.
This
activity is supported by funding from the Colorado Council on the Arts, a
state agency funded by the Colorado General Assembly and the National
Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
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