Site Description:
The World of Woodturner's "family" site was created for
woodturners and those that appreciate woodturned art. It
is a safe place where turners can gather to post their work
in their own album and benefit from the experience and
skills of other woodturners. Many of the members of WoW
are masters of modern woodturned art, as is Clay Foster,
the artist who created the piece shown here.

Clay Foster states, “Making things has always been my life.
I don't do well if I can't make something every day”. A self-
taught artist, Clay's creative spirit is inspired by almost
everything he sees around him. Here is what he says about
his inspiration for much of his work, such as his “temple
bowl” series, of which this piece is a part.

“Primitive art has had an influence on me for a long time,
but things from Africa seem to have a spirit that is the
most   accessible to me. The religious objects have an
aura of sacredness, and the functional household items
glow with a patina of lifelong loving use. Holy and old are
some how intertwined in my mind, and that essence of
things becoming sanctified by endurance is an element
I try to capture in my own work.

A sense of ritual and spiritual quest, if not overtly religious,
is in a lot of my work. The temple bowl series began after I
was commissioned to make a baptismal font for a church. I
pondered a lot about ceremonial cleansing, a common
ritual in many cultures. It's comforting to me that most
cultures believe that purity in both thought and deed is
possible, and provide some ritual to represent the desire
for it”

Many of Clay’s pieces can be found in his album on the
World of Woodturners. For those without access to the
World of Woodturners, Clay’s work can be seen at:

http://www.clayfoster.com


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