A Gallery of Turned Pieces by Rob Wallace, Woodturner  


Background:
        Rob Wallace holds a Ph.D. in Botany from Rutgers University (New Jersey), and is a biology professor at Iowa State University where he teaches courses in evolution, plant taxonomy and systematics, economic botany, and biogeography.  He has been a woodworker since before his teen years, and enjoys all aspects of woodworking, especially woodturning.    He is a member of the American Association of Woodturners  and has been an active member and officer of the Ames Woodworkers Club (Iowa) for over 16 years.   He has been coordinating the local group of woodturning enthusiasts (Ames Area Woodturners) since 2005, has presented demonstrations on various woodturning and woodworking topics to regional and national groups, and offers private lessons in woodturning to intersted persons.

        His work has been displayed at the Iowa State Fair in the judged categories of 'Creative Arts - Woodworking' in 2005, 2006, and 2007 where he has won first place in the "Turned Items"  Class each year.   In 2007, he won First Place (Blue Ribbon) in Sculpture at the Iowa State Fair Juried Fine Art Exhibition.  He has been showing and selling his artwork at Gallery 319 since November, 2006, and at the Octagon Center for the Arts, both in Ames, Iowa.

Artist's Statement:  
         "The natural beauty of wood can be celebrated and accentuated together with aspects of symmetry and form in well-designed turned wooden pieces.  My excitement and fascination with wooden bowls, vessels, and hollow forms created on the wood lathe enables me to rise to the challenge of producing a form that will best display the native figure and color of the wood, in addition to creating a piece that is both pleasing and satisfying to the eye with respect to the form's shape and proportions.  All of these factors interact dynamically as wood is removed in the process of turning to reveal the natural characteristics of this medium, which are universally appealing.  The opportunity to expose grain patterns, subtle color or texture differences, and unique features of the wood is an endless source of inspiration that allows for "instantaneous creativity" and immediate gratification for the artist, as the spinning form develops on the lathe.  With the development of each piece, the mystery of what lies beneath the bark is revealed, and the ability to share this beauty with others in the pieces I create is a source of personal pleasure and pride."



Inquiries about piece availability and price are welcomed.

Please e-mail or phone if you would like me to produce a custom-turned,
commissioned piece, suited to your artistic or decor requirements.

The Gallery

Samples of some of my turned wooden forms:
 

Tinctoria - Argentine Osage and Blackwood - 2007 'Tinctoria'

Iowa State Fair Entry, 2007

Second Place,
Creative Arts - Woodworking, Decorative Items 		Hollow vessel with collar and finial, 5.5 inches (14 cm) diameter, 7 inches (18 cm) tall; Argentine Osage Orange body, (Maclura tinctoria) and African Blackwood collar and finial (Dalbergia melanoxylon). July,
2007
Telophase - Spalted Maple - 2007
 'Telophase'

Iowa State Fair Entry, 2007

First Place,
Sculpture, juried Fine Arts Exhibition		 Hemispherical bowl, carved and wood- burned;  9.25 inches (23.5 cm) in diameter, 5 inches (12.7 cm) tall; Spalted Black maple  (Acer nigrum).
  July,
 2007
   http://www.woodturner.org/http://www.woodturner.org/Mulberry Box - 2005
 'Mulberry Box'  Ring Box, 3 in. (7.5 cm) diameter, 4 inches (10 cm) tall; Mulberry (Morus rubra).    December,    2005
Three-Legged Chechen Vessel - 2004
  'Three-Footed
 Chechen Vessel'		 Vessel, 5.5 inches (14 cm) diameter, 3 inches (7.5 cm) tall; Chechen 
(Metopium brownei).

SOLD at Gallery 319		   September,
  2004
Fruit Bowl - 2005  'Fruit Bowl'

 Iowa State Fair Entry, 2005

    Second Place,
Creative Arts - Woodworking, Household Item		 Bowl, 10.25 inches (26 cm) diameter, 4.25 inches (11 cm) tall; Ambrosia Maple (Acer rubrum).  July,
 2005
Pink Ivory Ring Box - 2006  'Decorative
   Ring Box'

 Iowa State Fair Entry, 2006

   Second Place,
Creative Arts - Woodworking, Decorative Item
Ring Box, 2 inches (5 cm) diameter, 4.25 inches (11 cm) tall; Pink Ivory body (Rhamnus zehyeri), Ebony finial (Diospyros
     sp.).		   July,
  2006
Utter Chaos - Redbud - 2007  'Utter Chaos' Bowl, 8.5 inches (21.5 cm) diameter,  4 inches (10 cm) tall; Redbud (Cercis canadensis).  November,   2007
r http://www.woodturner.org/Fault Line - Elm - 2006   'Fault Line'
Vessel, 8.25 inches (21 cm) diameter,  4.5 inches (11.5 cm) tall; Elm (Ulmus fulva).
SOLD at Gallery 319
   October,
 2006
Convergence - Spalted Maple - 2007  'Convergence' Bowl, 6.75 inches (17 cm) diameter, 2.5 in. (6.5 cm) tall; Spalted black maple (Acer nigrum).
    September,    2007
Mother Lode - 2007  'Mother Lode' Bowl, 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) diameter, 2.75 in. (7 cm) tall; Tasmanian Myrtle burl (Nothofagus sp.).  September,
 2007
Cyclone Fantasy - Yellowheart & Redheart - 2007   'Cyclone Fantasy' Segmented Bowl 8.75 inches (22 cm) diameter, ca. 4 inches (10 cm) tall;  Yellowheart  (Zanthoxylum flavum) and black-dyed maple (Acer sp.) rim, with Redheart body (Erythroxylum sp.).


SOLD at Gallery 319		 Januuary,
2007
Wave Illusion - 2007 September,
 2007		  'Wave  Illusion'

  Iowa State Fair Entry, 2007

First Place,
Creative Arts - Woodworking, Turned Items		 Shallow, rolled-rim bowl, 9.25 inches (23.5 cm) diameter,  2.25 inches   ( 5.7 cm) tall; Tasmanian Myrtle (Nothofagus sp.).  July,
 2007
Hemispheric Delineation - 2006 'Hemispheric
Delineation'

  Iowa State Fair  Entry, 2006

First Place,
Creative Arts - Woodworking, Turned Items		 Bowl, 9.75 inches (25 cm) diameter,  5.5 in. (14 cm) tall, Spalted black maple (Acer nigrum) and Cherry (Prunus serotina). July,
2006
http://www.woodturner.org/Prairie Fire - Box Elder - 2007  


'Prairie Fire'



 Vase/Hollow Vessel, 6 inches (15 cm) diameter,  7 inches (18 cm) tall; Box Elder (Acer negundo).


SOLD at Gallery 319		  January,
 2007
Atoll in Ash - Ash - 2007

'Atoll in Ash'


 Bowl, 8.5 inches (16.5 cm) diameter,  2 in. (5 cm) tall;
Ash (Fraxinus americana).		  February,
 2007
Cherry Ogee Vase - 2007 'Ogee Vase' Hollow Vessel/Vase, 6 inches (15 cm) diameter, 4.5 in. (11.5 cm) tall; Cherry (Prunus serotina).  September,
 2007
http://www.woodturner.org/Tequila Sunrise - Box Elder - 2007  'Tequila    Sunrise' Bowl, 7.5 inches (16.5 cm) diameter, 3 in. (5 cm) tall;
Box Elder (Acer negundo)..		  November,
 2007
Portal to the Heart - Box Elder and Bloodwood - 2007http://www.woodturner.org/  'Portal to
 the Heart'		 Vessel, 6 inches (15 cm) diameter, 7 in. (18 cm) tall; Box Elder (Acer negundo), with Bloodwood (Brosimum rubescens) collar.  October,
 2007
Get in Treble - Cherry and Brass Inlay - 2007 'Get in Treble'


   Donated to the Central
 Iowa Symphony Fundraising Auction, Sept. 2007		 Platter, 12 inches (30 cm) diameter, 2 in. (5 cm) tall; Cherry (Prunus serotina), with inlayed antique brass treble clef and 'brass band'.  September,
 2007
jwahl@iastate.eduOmega - lilac - 2007  'Omega' Rolled-rim Bowl, 7 inches (18 cm) diameter, 3.25 in. (8.2 cm) tall; Lilac (Syringa vulgaris).  November,
 2007


To go to the Gallery 319 Web Site -  CLICK HERE
To go to the Octagon Shop Web Site -  CLICK HERE
Click Heree
My Contact Information:

E-mail:   rwallace@iastate.edu  or   robwallacewoodturner@mchsi.com

Postal Mail Address:     Rob Wallace
                                              2841 Torrey Pines Road
                                              Ames, Iowa 50010-8946

Telephone:     1-515-292-5785;  please call between 5:30 pm and 9:30 pm  (Central Time Zone)


Go To Rob Wallace's Homepage -----  CLICK HERE!