| John Kepski considers
himself as a sculptor in wood rather than a woodworker. His creations
are first and foremost wood sculptures and boxes second. The essence of
his work is a box concept that represents a leaf, a flower, a bird, a
face etc. Most of his boxes are abstract pieces. John’s boxes are excellent examples of line and structure, usually with beautifully flowing lines and small drawers that work perfectly. Sculptured wooden boxes are labour intensive items to produce. A small one drawer box takes five or so hours, while a more complex four drawer box with internal hidden drawers or pull out trays takes about forty hours. Woods used have to be fairly soft as the extremely fine saw blades used will not tolerate hardwoods. The boxes are sanded eight times using increasingly finer sandpapers. Most of these have to be done by hand. Oils used to finish a piece do not change the colour of the woods and allow the natural beauty of the grain and its complexity to show through. Woods that are best for sculptured boxes include: Australian Red Cedar, Red Silkwood, Southern Silky Oak, Camphor Laurel, Huon Pine, Blackwood, Sassafras, Himalayan Pine, and Pencil Cedar. Many people ask John what to keep in the boxes. His reply is that this is not the intent of the box but if they want to keep something in them there are many small obvious items. John prefers to suggest something more ethereal like one’s dreams. Boxes make exceptional presents as they are unique. No two works are the same and they are also rare as very few people make them. John’s boxes have found loving homes around the world, in places such as France, Canada, USA, Hong Kong, as well as throughout Australia. John exhibits in limited venues as this is all he can keep up with. There is no way of mass producing these boxes nor would they be as unique and beautiful as they are if this was the case. His boxes are on display at the Bundeena Maianbar Art Trail as well as Hazelhurst Regional Gallery Sutherland and Ferry Artists Gallery at Wisemans Ferry. John also exhibits at a limited number of Art Shows each year. Images of boxes can be viewed on this web site. If you have a particular shape that you would like made into a box, John is prepared to consider this as a commission |
|
left to right:
Aladdin
celery top pine, 7cm high
Kneeling Figure
australian red cedar, 14cm high
Two Drawer Clock
australian red cedar, 12cm high
left to right:
Leaf
camphor laurel, 4cm high
This Way
pencil cedar, 15cm high
Olive Rose
olivewood, 35cm high
Mailbox
australian red cedar, 20cm high
Persian Slipper
australian red cedar, 7cm high
Images in portrait banner
left to right:
Small Leaf
camphor laurel, 5cm high
Tulip
southern silky oak, 23cm high Pram
purple butt, 8cm high