Featured Artist for August
Stephen Yates, Wood Craftsman
Stephen Yates has on display a wonderful selection of his craftsmanship in working with Myrtlewood
About the Artist
I began creating in wood from the time I was a child in Seattle, growing up next to a forest over-looking Puget Sound. There was no shortage of “reclaimed” wood to build skateboard platforms, hand puppet stages, multilevel treehouses and small boats.
I studied architecture at the University of Idaho, but missed working with my hands and left to be-come a builder. There were docks, homes, and some larger projects including the Spokane Arena and the WSU Holland Library.
I then had the opportunity of a lifetime building Hollywood movie sets; both of the Volcano movies, Air Force One and many
Others.
Throughout my life, my first love, the coastal forest, has continued to inspire the creation of visual im-ages telling the story of reclaimed natural wood
What is Myrtlewood?
Oregon Myrtlewood is a broadleaf evergreen native to Southwestern Oregon and Northwestern California. It grows prolifically in this coastal region. The Umpqua River watershed appears to be the northern boundary of its native habitat. From there it grows east into the Roseburg area and then south along the riverbanks and in various groves in the hills within the coast range.
The Myrtle tree grows 60 to 120 feet in the wild. It is very slow growing putting on only 1 to 12 inches of growth during each of its first few years. They may take 80 to 120 years to reach full size. It is often multi-trunked, but can be kept pruned to a single trunk tree. When growing in the open it tends to have a dense, rounded, ‘gumdrop shape’. On a shady hillside it grows much taller and narrower.
n the Bible, the Myrtle tree is of special religious significance, representing fertility and life. Although a larger tree with a little different flower type, Oregon Myrtlewood has a lot of similarities to the Myrtlewood growing in the Holy Land. "Instead of the brier shall come up the Myrtle tree" Isaiah 55:13.
Oregon Myrtlewood possesses a wide variety of beautiful colors and grain patterns and is noted by many as being one of the world’s most beautiful woods.
The color of the wood is often influenced by the minerals in the soil, which could be a factor in its popularity here on the Oregon coast. The colors range from blond to black with many shades of honey, browns, satiny grays, with reds and greens in between. Because of the wide variety of colors, it is difficult to "match" a piece of myrtlewood you already have. But it is very easy to find a piece of myrtlewood that will "compliment" most other wood products in your home. For more information visit What is Myrtlewood
Below is a selection of Stephen Yates Work
