Warton
Eshrick’s work was very inspirational to me. I was fascinated
by Wendel Castle’s layered and laminated work. In 1980
I discovered a way to make wooden bowls with layered and laminated
expanding concentric rings of wood. There were others before
and probably after me who discovered the same technique but
I became obsessed with the idea and am still finding new ways
to create with it. My designing is not a mental process. It
is not a planning process. My best work comes as a surprise
– it happens while I am making it. My work reminds people
of things Mayan to Egyptian, primitive to contemporary and
more. My wish is that my work communicates deeply in the non-verbal
language of that which is beyond words. – David Zimmerman
There is a vast
range of delightful surprises emanating from this quiet artist.
From solid pieces of wood, David Zimmerman evokes light, air,
and freshness, expressing depth and playfulness simultaneously.
Born in 1945,
Zimmerman spent his boyhood with his parents, grandmother,
and aunt on his grandparent’s farm in Northeastern Lancaster.
There, he watched his father in his grandfather’s woodshop.
At five years old, Zimmerman made his first cutting board.
As a teenager, he worked as an apprentice with a cabinetmaker.
Eventually, Zimmerman enrolled in Eastern Mennonite College
in Harrisonberg, Virginia, where he was first introduced to
art history. But, it was in 1980 that Zimmerman began creating
his own sculpture.
Zimmerman has
spent years learning and perfecting the disciplines of his
craft. And with the rules of traditional woodworking so much
at hand, he has given himself the freedom to break them. He
explores new dimensions in creativity.
