Wayne Gretzky says you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. During a good week I take a lot of shots at what to make and how; drawings, models, mockups. Ideally, the piece I make communicates complexity without using it.

Once the design solution is decided on I never think to not make the object beautifully as opposed to making something beautiful. Beauty arises out of the intelligent and careful application, to the material at hand, of the components of workmanship, namely: dexterity, judgment, and shape determining systems .

I use both domestic and tropical hardwoods and spend time sourcing the optimum lumber. I share a drying shed sheltering flitches of local storm downed hardwoods. When the design calls for the colour or figure of a species that is relatively scarce, I try to locate suppliers who will certify that their timber comes from a sustainable source. To finish most pieces I use oil and wax it, or an oil and varnish mix rubbed and buffed.

Please contact Van if you are interested in his work.

Some representative pieces are presented below.