Woodworking/Sculpture Exhibit

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Courtesy of the artist.

Sculpture by Jim Creel.

Twin Steeples Creative Arts Center will host a reception to unveil the works of two Ponchatoula woodworkers/sculptors. Jim Creel and Johnny Green work separately, but also collaborate on a mix of metal, wood, and clay sculptures. Most of their works are realistic, but Creel dabbles in some abstract work, too.  

Creel turned to art following careers as a programmer analyst, a Civil Engineer, a big game outfitter in Colorado, a competitive shooting and firearms trainer, a Finance Manager for several large car dealerships, the Hammond Chief of Police, and, finally, a locksmith. Upon retiring after Katrina he turned obsessively to three dimensional art. He began with woodturning, then combining copper, clay, steel, and bronze to create his many sculptures. He is a celebrated for his craft and has traveled extensively giving demonstrations and teaching classes throughout the US.

Green spent his career mining sand, river gravel, and rock, the primary ingredients of asphalt and concrete. He was president of Standard Gravel Co. He embraced wood turning in 2008 as a semi-retirement hobby. With the arrival of a high-quality lathe, wood turning quickly became a passion and he evolved a method to turn much larger pieces and bore to deeper depths.  For some pieces two lathes are required to handle the weight and size of the raw work pieces. His “wood shed” involves two overhead cranes, long custom boring bars, powered rotary cutters and specialty positioning equipment, allowing him to fabricate large usual pieces. He credits his strong mechanical and engineering background with for his ability to find and reveal beauty that nature has hidden within a piece of wood.

A reception with the artists will be held September 1 at 6 pm. Free. twinsteeples.org