Born Alexandria, LA November 26, 1951

Formal Woodworking Education

B.S., Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, Industrial Arts-
Wood Technology, 1979
Woodturning Workshop: Mark and Melvin Lindquist, Arrowmont School
of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg,TN, 1982
Woodturning Workshop: David Ellsworth, Arrowmont School of Arts
of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg,TN, 1983
Assistant to Mark and Melvin Linquist, New Hampshire Studio,
1984-85

Stoney Lamar. Transcending the round object, he uses multiple axes to sculpt asymmetrical forms and create texture. By juxtaposing asymmetrical and symmetrical elements in his work, the figurative, architectural or abstract wood objects are Few who treat the lathe as a carving tool do so with the skill of imbued with a sense of movement, balance, and tension.

"A multiple axis approach also has allowed me to draw from a wider range of influences and to develop a more personal imagery and narrative," notes Lamar. "As I adjust the work's axis and continue turning, new challenges and possibilities are constantly present, allowing a subtractive process to become an intriguing way of constructing an object."

Lamar received his BS degree in industrial arts (wood technology) from Appalachian State University. A friend's borrowed lathe led him away from his original goal to design and build furniture, however, to sculpt woodturning. He apprenticed with Mark and Melvin Lindquist and the year's experience there freed him from many self-imposed restrictions and limitations of traditional lathe approaches. It opened new avenues and processes for the expression of his aesthetic.

His work is in such collections as High Museum of Art (Atlanta), American Craft Museum (NY), Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, Los Angeles County Museum of Craft and Folk Art, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., and Episcopal Diocese of Lexington, KY, Chapel of Broken Vessel.

Organizations:

Southern Highlands Handicraft Guild, 1983-present
Board of Directors 1992-1995
President 1993-1995
Piedmont Craftsmen Incorporated, 1984-present
Association of American Woodturners, Founding Member, 1986-present
Handmade in America, Board of Directors 1995-present
Center for Craft, Creativity, & Design, Board of Directors 1998-present

Public Collections:

Yale University Art Gallery, "What We Feel," 2001
Detroit Institute of Art
Mint Museum of Craft & Design
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Corporate Headquarters, New York, NY
Episcopal Diocese of Lexington, KY, Chapel of the Broken Vessel
Idlewild Paper Corporation, Winston-Salem, NC
Ethan Allen Furniture Corporation, Danbury, CT
Bank South, Atlanta, GA
Salem Investment Corporation, Winston-Salem, NC
Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL
Klemm Analysis, Washington, DC
Decorative Arts Museum, Ark Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
American Craft Museum, New York, NY
Renwick Gallery, Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC; "Silent Perch," 1993; "Trio," 1999
Los Angeles County Museum

Awards:

1995 Purchase Award, "Addicted to the Rhythm M#1," Decorative Arts Museum, Little Rock, AR
1991 Juror's Award, " Woodturning: Vision and Concept II," Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
1989 Juror's Award, " Materials Hard and Soft," Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton, TX
1985 Juror's Award, " Someone to Watch Over Me," Arrowmont School Crafts,Gatlinburg,Tn

Exhibitions:

2001 "Challenge VI-Roots: Insights & Inspiration In Contemporary Turned Objects," Berman Museum of Art, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA
2001 "Nature Takes a Turn," Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul, MN
2001 Sculpture Invitational, Blue Spiral #1, Asheville,NC
2000 "The Art of Turned Wood," The Jane & Arthur Mason Collection, Mint Museum of Craft & Design, Charlotte, NC
2000 Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington, DC
1999 "Collector's Choice," SOFA Chicago, IL
1999 Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington, D.C.
1999 Blue Spiral # 1, Regional Artist of the Month, Asheville, NC
1998 Arida Foundation Artist of the Year Exhibition, Blue Ridge Community College, Hendersonville, NC.
1998 Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington, DC
1998 "Beyond Tradition: Masterworks of Contemporary Wood," Heller Gallery, New York, NY
1997 "Beyond Tradition: A Turned wood Invitational." Arkansas Arts Center, Decorative Art Museum, Little Rock, AR
1997 "Turned Wood Now: Redefining the Lathe turned Object," Arizona State University
Art Museum, Tempe, AZ
1997 "Homage to Osolnik," Connell Gallery, Atlanta, Ga.
1997 Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington, D.C.
1993-1997 " Out of the Woods: turned wood by American craftsmen," European Tour sponsored by the Arts America Program of 1997, U.S. Information Agency.
1997 "Curator's Focus: Turning in Context," Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA
1996 Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington, DC
1995 "Three generations of Wood Turners," Connell Gallery, Atlanta, GA
1995 Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington, D.C.
1995 "National Objects Invitational," Decorative Arts Museum, Little Rock, AR-"Addicted to the Rhythm M#1," Purchase Award
1994 "Turning Plus...Redefining the Lathe Turned Object III," Arizona State University Museum, Tempe, AZ.
1994 "Challenge V: International Lathe Turned Objects," Collegeville, PA
1993 "Hand of the Craftsman Eye of the Artist," Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN
1992 "Out of the Woods: Turned Wood by American Craftsmen,"
Fine Arts Museum the South, Mobile, AL
1992 "Revolving Techniques: Thrown, Blown, Spun, and Turned,"James A. Michener Arts Center, Doylestown, PA
1991 "Turner's Challenge IV." Port of History Museum, Philadelphia, PA
1991 "Woodturning: Vision and Concept II," Arrowmont School ofArts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN, Juror's Award
1990 "Lathe-Turned Objects by Robyn Horn and Stoney Lamar," Chelsea Gallery, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
1990 "Contemporary Works in Wood, Southern Style," Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL
1990 "Revolving Techniques: Thrown, Blown, Spun, and Turned,"
James A. Michener Arts Center, Doylestown, PA
1990 "Turned Vessel Defined," Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA
1989 "Materials Hard and Soft," Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton, TX, Juror's Award 1989 "Arkansas Collects Decorative Arts," Decorative Arts Museum, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
1988 "New Talent/New Work," Great American Gallery, Atlanta, GA
1988 "International Turned Objects Show," Port of History Museum, Philadelphia, PA
1988 "Regional Selections," Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
1987 "Works Off the Lathe by Old and New Faces," Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO
1987 "Art in Wood," Greenhill Center for North Carolina Art, Greensboro, NC
1986 "American Woodturners," Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
1985 "Woodturning: Vision and Concept," Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts,Gatlinburg, TN-"Someone to Watch Over Me," Juror's Award of Recognition

Solo Exhibitions:

1998 Mendelson Gallery, Washington Depot, CT
1997 Sansar Gallery, Bethesda, Maryland
1995 Artist in Residence Exhibition, Kipp Gallery, Indiana University, Indiana, PA.
1994 "Fall Colors," Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC.
1993 Stoney Lamar, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1993 "Fifth Annual Lathe-Turned Objects Show: Stoney Lamar," Sansar Gallery, Washington, DC
1991 "Revolutions-Revelations," Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC
1990 "Transitions", Upstairs Gallery, Tryon, NC
1986 Wilson Arts Council, Fall Exhibit, Wilson, NC

Teaching and Lectures:

Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Collaborative Workshop with Michael Peterson, Gatlinburg, TN, 1995.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Artist in Residence, Indiana, PA, February, 1995
Rude Osolnik Conference, Demonstration, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN, 1994.
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, Pat and Phillip Frost Craft Lecture Series, Washington, DC
American Association of Woodturners Symposium, Demonstration, Brigham-Young University, Provo, UT
Rochester Woodworkers Association, Lecture and Demonstration, Woodturning Workshop, Rochester, NY, 1991
American Association of Woodturners Symposium, Demonstration, Vision and Concept II, Gatlinburg, TN, 1990
Brigham-Young University, Demonstration, Woodturning Conference, Provo, UT, 1990
Madison-Morgan Cultural Arts Center, Demonstration, Woodturning Southern Style, Madison, GA, 1989
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Workshop, Woodturning: An Asymmetrical Approach, Gatlinburg, TN, 1988 & 1990
Brookfield Craft Center, Workshop, Woodturning, Brookfield, CT, 1987
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME,
Monitor/Assistant, 1987
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Teaching Assistant,
Gatlinburg, TN, 1987
Brookfield Craft Center, Workshop, Woodturning , Brookfield, CT
Blue Ridge Technical Institute, Workshop, Woodworking, Continuing
Education, Hendersonville, NC 1987

Publications:

Wood Turning in North America Since 1930, Wood Turning Center & Yale University Art Gallery, 2001
Living With Form: The Horn Collection of Contemporary Crafts, The Arkansas Arts Center, Bradley Publishing, 1999
Turning Wood into Art: The Jane and Arthur Mason Collection, Harry N. Abrams, 2000
Contemporary Turned Wood, Ray Leier, Jan Peters, Kevin Wallace, Hand Books Press, 1999.
Civic Partners, Report from the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, "Civic Leadership for the New Century," Retta B. Kelly, 1997
Woodshop News, "Lamar's Wood Sculpturue ...," Daniel MacAlpine, January, 1993
American Craft Magazine, "Portfolio," Vol. 52, No. 5, 1992
The Arts Journal, "Transforming Nature's Mutations: The Turned Wood Sculpture of Stoney Lamar," Thomas Rain Crowe, Vol. 14, No 7, 1989.
Contemporary American Craft Art: A Collector's Guide, Barbara Mayer, Gibbs M. Smith, Inc. 1988.

Video:

"The Art of Craft: Wood," Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.

Other:

Consultant-Fund Raising, Co-Chair Wood Studio Campaign, 1994-95,
Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN.
Co-Chair 1998 Conference "Evolution in Form: Furniture, Turnings, & Sculptural Objects." Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN

The development and use of multiple axis techniques as a way of applying texture or sculpting asymmetrical forms on the lathe has allowed me to transcend the round object and to create a sense of image and movement that is suggestive of what I see while the object is being formed on the lathe. A multiple axis approach has also allowed me to draw from a wider range of influences and to develop a more personal imagery and narrative.
The work also begins as a relationship I have established with a particular piece of wood and how its characteristics will interplay with my intentions and my emerging technical and conceptual vocabulary. As I adjust the work's axis and continue turning, new challenges and possibilities are constantly presented, thereby allowing a subtractive process to become an intriguing way of constructing an object. The resulting figurative, architectural or abstract objects are an attempt create balance and tension by juxtaposing asymmetrical and symmetrical elements.

"The work of Stoney Lamar represents the body exploring its relation to the force of gravity--These sinewy forms, have an acrobat's dynamism of balance through movement, and the dancer's joy in eccentric gesture. They take place in history yet aren't pedantic. His work amplifies the music in the wood. Each form is a suspension bridge placed on its end--connecting earth to sky. If our field is a body, this work is the spine, humanly upright, flexible yet strong."

Michelle Hozapfel
Expression and Content panel World Turning Conference, 1997

"He (Lamar) identifies three strains to his work: figuration suggestive of birds and torsos; heads and masks; and abstract work that are mostly about process and materials such as his Rhythm Series. Yet to my eye the primary subject of his work is the lathe, even more than wood or form. He is the mediator between the lathe and life. What is laid bare is the beautiful romance that turners have with their machines."

"At A turning Point"
Jon Perreault
Essay for "Turned Wood Now: Redefining the Lathe Turned Object IV