First Saturday Open Studios

Kevin creates turned pieces, bowls, boxes and artforms from wood.  By focusing on the local sourcing of materials, he brings a familiar flavour to his turned items. Felled city street trees that would normally become landfill or mulch are salvaged, selected, sawn, hollowed and formed. His practice exposes the grain, texture and smells of our local flora. He selects sweet, chatoyant maple; smoky, ruddy cherry; acrid oak; earthy, humusy elm; or dramatic, black locust; all locally sourced. Using time as a medium, wooden pieces are allowed to warp and drift naturally over months of patient waiting before a final finishing locks in the shape and feel of the piece. Kevin’s forms are intentionally simplistic and grounded, emphasizing their utility.

Kevin is inspired by Vancouver’s leafy canopy. Age inevitably brings an end to our well protected jungle, begging reuse and a reveal of the deep history locked inside hidden grain. He accentuates the patterns, textures, burl, decay and voids in his useful pieces. Kevin currently lives and works in Vancouver as Littlewood Turning.