Christopher Strassner
Being an artist...
Truth be told, do any of us really know why we do one thing over another as a job or a career? What influenced me to become an artist? Well, many things - things I am aware of and things I am not. Was it pondering my grandfather’s watercolor paintings as a child, or watching the awesome power of nature in numerous southern thunderstorms? Or maybe it was that art history survey course in college? Or maybe it was learning the art of lighting design for dance? All of these things and more have influenced me as an artist.
Allowing the artist in me to emerge was a little like.....well, what it must be like for a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. I started with lighting design for dance, and then moved on to technical theater - bringing to life the artistic designs of set designers. At the Julliard School, a lonely woodworking lathe enticed me to explore wood and its inherent beauty. Woodturning was the key that unlocked the sculptural artist inside me. Mastering woodturning techniques, left me craving more, wanting to push limits, expectations and myself.
Slowly, all the influences began to converge - metal working, woodturning, painting, lighting, family history - and I finally found myself to be ... an artist.
I have been turning on a lathe since 1996 and have operated out of NYC, Philadelphia, Boston and Maine. I now work out of my studio in Brevard, NC. I make woodturned bowls and vessels and create mixed media sculpture.
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge image.



