Raymond Sapergia

After many years as a master potter and being fortunate to have my work in private collections around the world, I felt it was time for a change. Always loving the texture and beauty of wood, I eventually made the transition from Throwing pots to turning wood. Both processes require a calm, centered focus so it felt like a natural transition to me. The absolute excitement of finding those unique one-of-a-kind pieces of various species of natural wood, each unique to itself, has allowed me to take what I see as exquisite shapes and turn them into pieces of art for others to enjoy for years to come.I do not believe anything in nature is "perfect" and that is part of my fascination with wood. It is not my goal to make perfect pieces of turned wood, but rather to find the most unique, misshapen, unusual pieces and turn them into one-of-a-kind works of art while maintaining as much of their natural beauty as possible. I love working with live-edge wood leaving as much of that live-edge as possible, or taking cracked pieces and filling them with coloured resin to give them new life and strength.I enjoy finding unique spalted pieces of driftwood from local beaches and salvaging them before they totally disintegrate from the natural decaying process. I get very excited about wood like this...wood that is on the edge, that is dramatic and fascinating, but hasn't yet become un-usable. The presence of decay causes an effect called "spalting". Zone lines caused by this early decay creates dramatic effects of wandering black lines, adding enormously to the character of a wooden bowl or other turned piece.