From Academia to Wood Shavings
Richard Dwyer spent the beginning of his adult life on college campuses which culminated in his earning graduate degrees from Rutgers University in the mid seventies. He was on the faculty at Rutgers for several years and then became academic dean at Empire State College, State University of New York in NYC.
Career opportunities moved him from NYC to Washington, DC and then back to NYC in the nineties. He settled in New York as the executive director of the Carpenters New York City Vicinity Labor Management Corporation. Throughout all of these moves and a busy career, Dwyer maintained a fascination and passion for working with wood in his free time. He built many pieces of furniture for his home and had a keen interest in building executive toys. All of his work encompassed flat wood construction.
Dwyer retired from his busy career in 2006. He moved from the NYC/NJ area to the lovely mountains of Johnson City, TN to be near extended family and help care for ailing in-laws. The move enabled him to fulfill a life-long wish to add to his tool collection, and he purchased his first lathe. The lathe introduced him to a brand new attraction to wood when he took an introductory course to turn 3-D objects. For over a year he took daily private lessons in turning wooden objects and became an addict to the art form that produces piles of wood shavings.
Currently he works in his studio on a daily basis making barrels full of shavings. He has turned pieces in several galleries in TN and VA and displays some of his pieces monthly at Scott’s Antiques in Atlanta. In 2011 Dwyer was awarded the Best Emerging Artist by the Tennessee Association of Craft Artists at their Nashville craft fair, and in 2012 he was selected as one of the top craft artists in Tennessee and was admitted to the TACA Biennial. In late 2012 Dwyer received a grant as a Master to train an apprentice woodturner. The work from this endeavor was on display at the Tennessee Art Commission’s Gallery in the summer 2013. 2013 also brought the “Best of Show Award” at Fine Art in the Park in Jonesborough, TN and his selection to the East Tennessee Master Woodworkers Show. His work was featured in the winter 2013 – 2014 issue of the magazine “Woodwork.” Dwyer’s work is in the permanent collection of the Tennessee State Museum and also in several private collections..
Artist Statement
Wood has fascinated me all of my life. Prior to retirement I made furniture and wooden toys. My first purchase upon retirement was a wood lathe. I became an urban recycler, harvesting logs meant for firewood or the local landfill. I turn logs creating pleasing lines and forms seeking to accentuate the natural beauty of the grain and color found in the wood.