Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum

Wausau, WI

715-845-7010

http://www.lywam.org/

Bats & Bowls: Contemporary Turned Objects

A craft double-header opened at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum on July I, 2000 with "Bats & Bowls: Contemporary Turned Objects" and "Tempe Tea Party" scoring a home run and then some. Together these two exhibitions present 80 contemporary artworks that lightheartedly look at two of America' s favorite pastimes - baseball and sipping a brew (tea, that is). They remain on view through August 27, 2000. (left: C. R. "Skip" Johnson, To You My Dear, cherry, northern white ash, 36 x 27 x 27 inches, Courtesy of Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation, Louisville, KY; right: David Sengel, Thorn Goblet, cherry, rose thorns, black lacquer, 7 x 2.5 inches, Courtesy of Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation, Louisville, KY)

"Bats & Bowls," the brainchild of Tennessee-based artist and wood turner Craig Nutt, pays homage to baseball while simultaneously highlighting the skill, daring, and inventiveness of artists whose primary tool of choice is the lathe. As Nutt sees it, the game of baseball and the art of wood turning have much in common. The batter steps up to the plate, the wood turner approaches the lathe. The player's bat and the turner's gouge become extensions of the body, each seeking the sweet spot of the object spinning toward it. Both the player and the turner are focused on the results yet fully involved in the process. They are linked by a turned object, the baseball bat.

Each artist in "Bats & Bowls" was invited to create a bat-related artwork, using an ash blank provided by Hillerich & Bradsby Company, maker of the Louisville Slugger, or from materials of the artist's choice. These works reveal a flair for fun and derring-do, while a second piece by each artist reflects their more recognized turning style. Whether a bat, a bowl, or a variation - each piece invites a closer look. (left: Michael Brolly, Self Portrait of Artist as Young Man, 27 x 16 x 10 inches, Courtesy of Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation, Louisville, KY; right: Michael Hosaluk, Sluggo, Courtesy of Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation, Louisville, KY)

The Kentucky Art and Craft Gallery in Louisville organized "Bats & Bowls: Contemporary Turned Objects."

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