Willamette Valley Woodturners

John Beaver Bio





After spending over 25 years in Hollywood, filming television commercials, I began experimenting with a lathe I had inherited. Before I even mastered the technique, I could see that I wanted to find a way to give the pieces a little more life. A bowl, or a vase, or a sculpture sits on a shelf and has a form, and there’s a certain beauty in that, but I wanted to add movement and energy to that form.

I have always lived near the ocean, and was inspired to bring the motion and rhythm of the waves to a round object. The exploration of that concept led to the “wavy” design which is still the core element of my work today.

I started by placing the design on bowls, because that’s kind of the obvious thing to make on a lathe, but as I developed new techniques I found that I could remove the restriction of the vessel and let the design stand alone as a sculptural form.

By working with round forms I found this opportunity to create designs that have no beginning or end. Even as they sit still, you can imagine the design wrapping around the piece and coming back into view, giving rhythm to the design. By moving the shapes around on the piece I found the energy that hopefully gives a feeling of movement to an otherwise static form.

I live in Pacific Palisades, CA with my wife Candy, and two wonderful daughters, Lauren and Rachel. When I’m not in the studio, I enjoy Golf, Paddle Tennis, Skiing, Cycling, Kayaking, Hiking and Bocce.

John has a very long list of awards, achievements, recognitions, publications, and a resume of classes he has taught or been involved with from all over the globe. Please see his website https://www.johnbeaver.net

In addition to his famous wave bowl designs, his website has a gallery of many other art forms including jewelry, vessels and “pumpkins” with removable stems.

Halloween is coming up!


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