A Walk in the Woods

Centennial Art Center’s 2017 spring exhibit, A Walk in the Woods, celebrates the natural world with graceful handcrafted wood-turned vessels and sculptures by Barry Werner and Michael Holowach, intricately sculpted furniture by Douglas Lawrence, and haunting landscape paintings by Lisa Taylor. 

For Michael Holowach, woodturning is a relatively new interest which he began after moving to Mt Juliet, Tennessee in 2009. Michael had retired after 31 years as a Property Master in the Motion Picture Industry (where he worked on a variety of things from major motion pictures to weekly series and commercials). Missing the creativity and driving forces that were part of his job, Michael searched for a new means of artistic expression. For him, woodturning filled that void. Now Michael creates unique wood-turned sculptures that explore negative space, juxtaposing it with positive forms to create new and interesting interpretations. After starting with bowls and other basic items, Michael found himself pushing the limits of his artistic ability creating new expressive and complex forms.

Returning for his second exhibit at CAC, Barry Werner continues to pursue his life-long interest in woodworking. Barry’s early experiences of hiking with his family through the woods instilled in him a deep love for the great outdoors. Working with wood involves all the senses and he finds woodturning to be a highly meditative process which keeps him connected to the natural world. Using a lathe and other carving tools, Werner crafts beautiful, one-of-a-kind works of art, both functional and decorative. He often carves these works from locally harvested wood of naturally fallen trees. Werner often completes vessels turned from trees that held special significance. For example, in this exhibit most of the walnut pieces were created from wood collected from his uncle’s house in Indiana when he was a child.

New Nashville resident, Douglas Lawrence, also draws inspiration from the natural world striving to capture the beauty of the outdoors for indoor enjoyment. Doug grew up in the country outside the small town of Berryville, VA. After graduating from college in 2011, Doug spent three and a half years in Paraguay serving as an Environmental and Agroforestry Specialist with the Peace Corps. It was during his time in Paraguay that he fell in love with woodworking. He was struck by how people’s lives were much more in intertwined with the natural world and came away with a greater appreciation of the beauty of nature. He spent his free time creating small pieces and sharing his talent through teaching carving techniques to local community members. Doug returned to the United States in 2016, settling in Nashville where he began woodworking as a profession. With a focus on artistic design and expert craftsmanship, Doug creates unique pieces of artistically sculpted furniture. His goal is to produce furniture that will not only be admired from a distance, but also examined up close and appreciated daily.

Lending a two-dimensional approach to A Walk in the Woods, Lisa Taylor’s expressive oil paintings convey feeling and a connection to nature with lush, verdant landscapes. Lisa feels her mission as an artist is to capture fleeting moments, aiming to represent not what is seen, but what is felt. Lisa is originally from a small town southwest of Nashville, TN. In addition to the lovely landscapes of woods and streams shown in this exhibit, Lisa paints expressive cityscapes, still life paintings and figurative paintings. 

This spring accompany Centennial Art Center Gallery for A Walk in the Woods and explore the textures, colors and glowing beauty of natural wood. Credit: 

Exhibition overview from museum website