Meet the Artist

Sean Philips

I came to carving late. In my 40's. But the second I held my first hand-made apple-wood bowl, I knew this is what I was made to do.

When I'm carving, I don't notice time passing. Finding and following the grain, coaxing it into the form that lives in the imagination, the smell of wood-shavings, the pleasing texture of a perfectly smooth surface with chatoyancy shining through. This is more than art, its obsession.

Anytime I'm on the road I'm always scanning for fallen trees. If you have a firewood pile, I'm leaving with half of it. Maple, Ash, Oak, Willow... every tree has a story hiding under the bark. It is my place in the world, to reveal those stories.

I carve to remember, to honour, to leave something behind. Each vessel is proof of life, of the tree, of myself, of the joy of making. Perfectly imperfect, just like all of us.

Work In Progress.

Birch with a second life. These candle holders were rescued from a pile of firewood near Steinbach… wood that was supposed to disappear in a blaze but instead found a higher calling. Each one has its own whimsy—facets, curves, textures