David Griffin

By practicing, exploring, and expanding the techniques of traditional metalsmithing, cold-metal spinning and wood turning, these vessels of turned and hollowed cottonwood, basswood and maple - in combination with spun, fabricated, constructed, powder-coated and or patinated copper, anodized aluminum, bronze, sterling silver, gold leaf and other mixed media - are the result of my ongoing creative research in vessel meaning and making.

The vessel forms that are generated allude to possible narrative interpretation as some of the vessels’ metal elements link them to industrial hardware while the wood components are more traditional in approach, thus creating several dualities such as, size and scale, structure and object, positive and negative, form and function, etc. and therefore allows the viewer numerous points of compositional reference. This combination of materials, techniques and concepts allows for the exploration of classical vessel forms by dissecting the various parts of the form: foot, body, shoulder, neck and mouth. By breaking the form apart and reassigning it a fabricated element, piercing or other unexpected internal elements it lures the viewer into spending more time in reading the overall composition and concept.