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woodezine - Volume III -
Issue IV - April 2005 |
Bob Bischoff-Fincher
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"I cannot remember a time in my life that I did not draw or paint. It has been an all-consuming, inextinguishable, desire for creativity. In recent years I have gravitated toward another life-long love: wood. As a creative device, while working in wood, I use the lathe, and proceed through a reduction process, as opposed to accession, as in painting, or two dimensional art." |
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Bob creates functional and nonfunctional bowls and one-of-a-kind woodturnings and other hollow forms from hardwoods. He is an award-winning woodturning artist and a fine art painter. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he has called Florida home for over 37 years. He has been married to Barbara for over 40 years and they have one adult child, Christopher, who also is an artist.
The collectible piece at
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Unlike the food safe camphor bowl with malachite inlay shown at left, many of his pieces are nonfunctional - created to be enjoyed for the pure shape, feel, and beauty of the hollow form. |
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No living trees are ever cut for his creative process. Bob uses only fallen trees that would otherwise terminate in a landfill, or be burned. The domestic woods that he uses in creating these one-of-a-kind pieces are predominately obtained locally in north Florida, as a result of road clearing operations, clearings for home building and storm damage.
The vessel at right is juniper with
pyrography. |
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The exotic and imported hardwoods that he uses are obtained from sustainable and sound reforestation programs. They come from certified, reputable, and environmentally sensitive timber merchants - people who share his belief in a strong environmental, social, and humanitarian obligation to the earth and its resources.
The piece shown at left, called "Kloof", is an ambrosia
maple body with inlaid redheart and grapefruit. The purpleheart lid is
topped with an ambrosia maple finial. |
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Bob says that he designs and shapes these wonderful woods on the lathe, giving the tree new life. "The soul of the tree lives in each piece."
The ambrosia maple footed vessel |
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What started as a hobby several years ago, has grown into a fully fledged pursuit. Bob has pieces placed in some of the finest homes of the southeast, and in Canada, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and other European countries.
All of his turned pens use Cross cartridge refills In this sampling at left, the woods are grapefruit, padauk, grapefruit, ambrosia maple and grapefruit again. |
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Bob is a graduate of Florida State University. His fields of interests are in science, history, and reading about the lives of free thought pioneers like Robert Ingersoll, Susan Anthony, Margaret Sanger, the Mott sisters and others. His hobbies include golf, photography, reading, painting, drawing, playing guitar and finger style bluegrass five-string banjo, and listening to music from the classics to country.
The tragic, untimely death of Princess
Diana |
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He is a member of the American Association of
Woodturners, the Artists' League/Museum of Fine Arts-FSU, Florida
Craftsmen Inc., Florida Cultural Resources Commission, Gadsden Arts, Inc.,
LeMoyne Art Foundation Inc., National Craft Association, North Florida
Woodturners Association, Southern Artists League and the Thomasville
Cultural Center Artists Guild.
At left is one of Bob's oil lamps. |
| Soul of the Tree fine art pieces are created exclusively by Bob Fincher. His number one cheerleader and wife, Barbara, handles the bookkeeping, shipping, and Web site. Annie, their Chinese Pug (aka/Shop Dawg) is never too far from Bob's side, whether in the studio, on the road or at home. Each work of art is original, individual, and one-of-a-kind. "Each piece of timber is selected for its end-use appeal," says Bob. "It is carefully studied and the finished piece is completed so as to be matchless and without peer." |
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Bob made a large bowl for his shop dawg's toys. After one long day at work, Annie crawled into the bowl with her toys to take a quick nap. She is an AKC registered Chinese Pug from the internationally recognized breeder of champion Pugs, Corinne Black of Stabradav Kennels. |
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All text and images on this page are copyrighted and used with the artist's permission. |