Artist Statement
I hail from a line of family of woodworkers, with a grandfather, uncle, and cousin, a high school woodwork teacher, artisan, and luthier respectively. But I didn’t start working wood until my mid 30’s, when desperate to leave corporate life, I stumbled upon a project to rebuild the windows for the downtown Durham American Tobacco condominiums. I fell in love with the work, the environment, the creation.
Two consistent joys throughout my life are expressing myself and relishing the expressions of others. I found that I do this mostly through conversation, play, art, music, sports, and work, and that the joy comes from the creation and sharing what we’ve made, that the common thread of these activities is taking something from within us and expressing it to others for all of our enjoyment.
However I was taught from a young age that Art is frivolous and besides, artistic ability was something only a few lucky people were born with. But now I have come to understand that “born with” is right, but we all are born with artistic talent. Our creator, or Mother Earth, or the Universe, if you like, has given the gift of creation to each and everyone of us (among countless others) and it is there for us to tap into if we wish. We can never mine the limit of these abilities in our lifetime and so we can freely explore, learn, and play with whatever strikes our fancy.
And lately my fancy has been trying to massage rigid wood into graceful curves that please my eyes and hands. I usually start with a vision and then let my instincts go to work. In a way many pieces design themselves. Often with the structural pieces, function creations form.
Email: talevins@gmail.com
Website: https://www.toddlevins.com
Instagram: @concept___l