John Cobb

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John, is a native of Seattle, graduate of the University of Washington, and now lives outside of San Francisco, CA in Marin County.

John has been a professional woodturner since 2010, focusing on heirloom bowls and hollow vessels made from reclaimed local hardwood trees.

The Bay Area's broad range of climates produces ideal growing conditions for hundreds of species of hardwood trees. Rich dark Walnut, spectacular Maple burl and exotic Olive are some of the beautiful woods that find their way to John’s lathe.

All of the sourced wood comes from stumps reclaimed from local arborist. These once spectacular trees were removed for disease or safety concerns and headed for the landfill or fireplace.

Every week John meets arborists at job sites or climbs through their wood piles searching for logs that have incredible potential hidden beneath the bark.

Returning to the shop with one piece or a trailer load, John chainsaws each log into approximate size and then mounts the blank on a lathe for turning into shape.

It takes nine months to a year for a bowl to naturally dry, but patience pays off when the final sanding is done and finish is applied to see the beautiful grain come to life.

BA University of Washington

Teaching:
Mt Diablo Woodturning Center
2014 - 2019
Bowls, Advanced Bowls, Advanced Vessels
Multi-day workshops

Artestry in Wood: Sonoma Count Museum
2013, 2014, 2015,2017,2018
City Art Gallery: San Francisco, CA
2017,2018,2019
Art Works Downtown: San Rafael, CA
2016,2017,2018
Gallery M: Half Moon Bay, CA
2014 - 2017