It all started when Joel signed up for a furniture making class at a community college.  The idea was to learn how to make furniture for his home.  As soon as he turned the pedestal for the table he was creating, he was hooked. Not on furniture making, but on using the lathe.  Joel instinctively knew what to do.  It felt right.

Over the years, Joel realized that he wanted to take his love of wood, give it the luminosity of glass while using the forms of ancient pottery. This led him to segmented wood turning.  He cuts many small segments of wood, assembles the pieces into a rough form and then turns it to the final shape.  Through an additive process, he reinterprets the ancient and classical forms and couples the forms with 21st century surface treatments. The forms are made new again with vibrant colors not normally associated with wood.

Joel’s work is displayed in public and private collections throughout the United States, China, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Syria, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey and the Maldives.