Fine Tuned with Larry Felder & Joel Hunnicutt

­­­Larry Felder

There is something about telling a story with oil paint that transcends oral language. At my age I have a lot of stories. I suppose we all do. But it is rare for someone to take the time to hear a good story start to finish. Everyone is in a hurry for you to finish a sentence so they can tell you about their own experience.

In recent years I have tried to tell stories with my work. To present a visual story that begins a conversation with the viewer –– an idea that starts with something I find interesting and ends with what the viewer adds from their own experiences. It is a silent conversation. So instead of someone interrupting my story while itching to get their story heard, we are sharing the story. It becomes both our stories. I start and they finish. That makes us both happy.

My style is a product of early drafting and architectural studies that emphasized precision and details, combined with a BFA in studio painting and a 30-year career in graphic design. While photography is my primary reference, my goal is to create an image that would be what the eye would see beyond the camera lens. Details draw people closer in and thus we start our conversation and we share our story.

Joel Hunnicutt

Approximately twenty years ago I signed up for a furniture making class at a community college. The idea was to learn how to make furniture for my home. As soon as I turned the pedestal for the table I was creating, I was hooked. Not on furniture making, but on using the lathe. I instinctively knew what to do. It felt right. Over the years, I realized that I wanted to take my love of wood, give it the luminosity of
glass while using the forms of ancient pottery. This led me to segmented wood turning. I cut many small segments of wood, assemble the pieces into a rough form and then turn it to the final shape. Through an additive process, I reinterpret the ancient and classical forms and couple these forms with 21st century surface treatments. These forms are made new again with vibrant colors not normally associated with wood.