As a designer, I have two primary goals. One is to utilize and explore and expand the material of wood, each species within each object, such that no two objects could be made of the same material, such that each piece dignifies itself within its own species. The second objective is I think of design in relation to line as volume, line defining volume, that is as shape. So that the forms that I make are primarily done with green materials, and they are intentionally conceived of to move and shrink and seek their own physical space once they have been completed. I think of the thin wall within the vessel as a membrane, if you wish, which defines the volume of interior of the form, and as such, I feel that each piece has a sense of pulse within its own identity.
I had a background in ceramics as an undergraduate, and I am certain this has carried forth in the impact of my work over the years, and I have tried to, in fact, discover relationships between wooden vessel forms and ceramic vessel forms and stone and metal vessel forms in a universal context. And as I continue to explore the vessels that I make, I continue to learn more about the ultimate vessel, which is myself. And also, as I look backwards to a career of work, I can see relationships of change within the work that I have done that are direct reflections of the changes that have occurred in myself.
David Ellsworth. Studio Woodturner. Quakertown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Mr. Ellsworth is the recipient of fellowships from Pew Foundation, NEA, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He is the past president of American Association of Woodturners. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Collectors of Wood Art. American Craft Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian, and Boston Museum of Fine Art are among his numerous collectors. David Ellsworth exhibits and teaches internationally. http://www.ellsworthstudios.com
