Ancient craft celebrated at Half Moon Bay gallery

“It becomes a conversation with the wood. I want to impose my will on the wood, but you have to pay attention because that doesn’t work,” Osborn said. “Woodturning gets me to open up and think outside the box. You have to get rid of your preconceptions.”

Osborn is one of five other artists whose work will be featured at the gallery’s exhibit, “As the Wood Turns.” He said his most exciting piece he named the atomic ball, a globe-shaped piece with circular patterns on the outside that opens up to a rounded bowl inside.

The other participating artists are Dan Alridge, Amanda DeNoyer, Wells Shoemaker and Chelsea Wagner. Osborn said Shoemaker used holly, which is an attractive white wood. Wagner uses colorful epoxy to fill in holes in her wood, which gives it a unique look. DeNoyer carves a lot and thinks outside the box to create different pieces. He noted a starfish she made was created by turning cones before she cut, glued, carved and painted. Alrdige’s bowls and plates are simple, clean and of high-quality wood.

The gallery will also feature eight photographers for an exhibit named “Through Our Eyes.” The photographers are Annelies de Kater, Kevin Osborn, Kathy Edwards, Larry Herzberg, Robert Mahrer, Mark Overgaard, Michael Singer and Keith Munger. Each photographer has a unique style and theme, Osborn said.

Singer focuses on symmetry and geometry, which lets the eye wander. Munger focuses on bright and vibrant colors that jump off the gallery wall. Edwards focuses on vibrant colors, much of which are derived from coastal photos. Herzberg’s work revolves around the recovery of Big Basin Park after the CZU fire two years ago, and de Kater focuses on landscapes and textures.

Mahrer focused on dreamy landscapes filled with fog, and Overgaard’s landscapes focused on ice from the north and south poles.

Osborn said he quit his tech job to become a photographer. His series of photographs featured at the show is derived from infrared photography to capture how the tidal currents ebb and flow.

“As I watched through the camera and saw something I can’t see with my eyes, you are looking into the water, and almost feel how the ocean was pulsing, the tug of the water and having swam in the ocean many years,” Osborn said. “I could immediately feel it again when the eelgrass was moving, that pull and surge out of sight. For me, it felt like it was pulling on me directly.”

All the items in the gallery are for sale, and some photographers will be selling prints and originals. All the wood-turned pieces are also for sale. The gallery is located at 300 Main St., Half Moon Bay, and is free and open to the public noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays until the end of November.