Kent Perdue

In Woodworking today Leah had Kent Perdue, a visiting artist, come in to talk to us about his work and some experiences he's had working at different places using wood and other materials.  I was so intrigued by his work, especially the pieces he showed us that were particularly about his background, growing up in more rural Virginia.  These pieces had such whimsy to them and were just gorgeous, full of beautiful textures and combinations of materials.

Kent Perdue, Silo: Consciousness, 2010

I love the spiraling in this piece and the contrast in material, especially the broken/rough bottoms of the pieces of wood that form the edges of the silo.  Here are some more of his pieces:

Kent Perdue, House on Boat: Endeavors, 2010

Kent Perdue, Winged House: Fleeting, 2010

 With these pieces, he talked about how they are kind of about taking the skills and experiences that you grew up with and sort of running with them (that's kind of why there is a flying/moving element within each of them).  He talked about how he just really appreciated things that looked interesting, that made you want to keep looking at them from all angles--places he had grown up with as a child--these were the types of things that inspired some of these pieces.  

 I think part of the reason I like Kent's work so much is that there is really a sense of voice and place with his work.  You feel like you can really sense the person that created the pieces and the unique point of view that he is trying to convey.