“Metamorphosis--Creating with Wood” Opening Reception

During the month of December, woodworker Roger Harvey presents Metamorphosis: Creating with Wood at In-Town Gallery. This aptly named collection displays his multi-faceted approach to designing and creating in wood. Visually dramatic bowls combine with his original designs for items such as clocks, music stands, and jewelry chests to form a sweeping display of Harvey’s artistry. The show will be on display during December. The opening reception is Friday, December 6th, 5-8pm.

Roger Harvey, who has made artisanal objects all his life, received a BFA from the University of Texas at Austin. Driven by his sense of design and his love of differing materials, he has worked as a potter and teacher on Cape Cod for eleven years and a goldsmith in Boston for eight. After relocating to Chattanooga  to do technical development in the jewelry industry, he joined In-Town Gallery as a potter, though he now works exclusively with wood.

“I view my work with wood, he says, “as a form of dialogue between my ideas for the piece I want to create and the unique qualities that lie within the wood itself. When I begin working, I don’t always know what’s there. Problems and opportunities will present themselves and I must be open to the unexpected. I think that’s something to be welcomed, not feared.”

 Harvey works on his lathe with locally sourced woods such as maple, walnut, cherry, hackberry, and Bradford pear.  He often ages freshly cut wood in conditions that encourage fungi that cause rot to grow in the wood.  This process, called spalting, stains the wood with complex lines and streaks. “Different woods present different challenges,” he says.  “The tree has its own character and too often woodworkers want to tame that. I’ve come to a place where I try to let the tree decide what it wants to be.”

The items he creates on his lathe often feature a ‘live edge’, that is, an edge that displays the bark itself as a visual element. Harvey is transitioning from rough turning green wood, drying and then doing as second turning to the final shape to turning the wet, green wood to the finished form. This allows the warping and surface irregularities that are natural in the drying process to create an organic quality quite in keeping with the materials he works with.

His jewelry cases and clocks utilize both elegantly cut shapes, and the natural color of different woods to achieve a sense of rhythm and balance. “I love curves, complex surfaces, and fluid lines” he says.  Presenting a high degree of finish, these are truly works of art.

Metamorphosis: Creating with Wood is a tour de force of the woodworkers art. This not to be missed show can be seen at In-Town Gallery during the month of December. The opening reception is Friday, December 6th, 5-8pm.

In-Town Gallery is an artist co-op gallery that is open 7 days a week and offers a wide range of art and fine craft from over 30 artists, including paintings in many media, natural dyed silk wearables, sculpture, pottery and creative wood items.  Also featured are works in glass, metal, exquisite jewelry and fine art photography.  In-Town Gallery is located on the North Shore at 26A Frazier Avenue (423-267-9214) 11 AM - 6 PM Monday - Saturday and 1 PM - 5 PM Sunday. Visit us at