Mike Moulthrop works at the custom-made lathe.
Mike Moulthrop works at the custom-made lathe.IF YOU GO* What: Learning the Curve: The Artistry of Matt Moulthrop.* Where: Museum Center at Five Points, 200 E. Inman St., Cleveland, Tenn.* When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays through Nov. 15.* Admission: $5 adults, $4 senior adults and students, free for children under 5.* Information: www.museumcenter.org.
When Auburn University's iconic Toomer's Oaks were destroyed by a herbicide-wielding University of Alabama fan three years ago, woodturner Matt Moulthrop was already envisioning a way to permanently extend the life of the beloved trees even as Auburn fans were mourning their loss.
Moulthrop, the third of three generations of Moulthrop men who are wood turners extraordinaire, reached out to Auburn trustee Jim Gorrie, who happens to collect Moulthrop family work, and asked how to obtain a piece of those oaks. Gorrie put him in contact with Marilyn Laufer, director of the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, who commissioned Moulthrop to create a piece that is now on permanent display in the museum.
The work was so important to Moulthrop, he made the trip to Auburn to handpick the wood he wanted. His finished tribute, "The Auburn Bowl," is 26 inches in diameter and 15 inches in height. It is unique in that Moulthrop retained a bit of bark at its top, which he calls the "window inside the tree."
An exhibit of the youngest Moulthrop's work is on display at The Museum Center at Five Points in Cleveland, Tenn., until Nov. 29. It contains more than 30 pieces of art drawn from Moulthrop collectors around this region.
Moulthrop says the show is a survey of his work from high school to present day. Of particular interest is a coffee table made of poison ivy vines, cast in resin and encased in marine epoxy.
"I call it 'Dangerous Beauty,'" says Moulthrop. "I had to wear a hazmat suit when I was cutting the vines because of the oil in poison ivy."
"I've been a fan of Matt's work for a long time and I'm glad we can bring an artist of his caliber to Cleveland to show the many shapes and forms that can be created with wood," says Hassan Najjar, executive director of the Museum at Five Points and a wood hobbyist himself. "It's an amazing thing to see how a material we see everyday can become shaped into something as exquisite as these turned vessels."
Moulthrop says his grandfather, Ed Moulthrop, was an architect and university professor who was called the "father of modern wood turning."
"He pioneered wood turning as an art form," Moulthrop says from his home in Marietta, Ga. "In terms of art movements, wood turning is probably the newest in getting recognition."
Ed Moulthrop taught wood turning to all five of his grandchildren, but Matt had the inclination to learn more. Although he graduated from the University of Georgia and got an master's in business administration from Georgia Tech, Moulthrop laughs that he never had "a career." His wife, he proudly adds, Girls Preparatory School alumna Amanda Mann Moulthrop, is a lawyer and director of the Cobb Justice Foundation.
"I always joke I never had to get a real job," he laughs. "I interned with J.P. Morgan while I was in college and worked for an AT&T wireless startup -- almost made it to one year. About then, my grandfather had gotten too ill to finish his existing projects. We talked about me quitting work to work for him and finish those projects.
"In the process of helping my grandfather, my dad encouraged me to complete a few of my own pieces, then talk to the family dealer in Atlanta. She sold my pieces and, by the time I was finishing Georgia Tech, I had a full schedule of shows around the country. Looking back, I was probably crazy," he laughs.
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.