Bradner Bond

Hello Bradner, can you introduce yourself?

Hi, I'm Bradner Bond and I hail from Northern California. I'm a woodturner and a scavenger. I'm always looking for downed trees and wood waste to turn into something beautiful. I work primarily with salvaged local timber. I'm basically a vulture with a lathe.

What draws you to a particular wood?

Locality is important for me in wood choice - obviously, it's great if a piece of wood looks pretty, but regardless of how it looks, it's a durable material that shouldn't be wasted. If a tree comes down in my neighborhood, I do my best to make sure that I use as much of it as I can. I like to think that by extending the use of the wood, I'm extending the memory of the tree in some way.

What is your process for determining the shape of a raw piece of wood?

In general, I do my best to let the wood do the talking. I try to come up with shapes and grain orientations that show off the wood. I like a piece that sits tall and has a little drama to it. I'm not generally drawn to "rustic" or "traditional" shapes - I think that adding some of your own style to the natural material draws your story closer to that of the tree. It's a handshake, of sorts, with the tree - you both share something with each other.

Our Spring Selection, in which you're participating, is a tribute to the color variations of wood. What is your relation with this theme?

I've been extremely blessed to grow up in an area of California that has a staggering diversity of plant and animal life. We have mind-bending variety of trees to choose from, and I've tried to work with every species that I can. Even within each species, its habitat, growth conditions, resources, growth rate - all of this has an impact on the color of the wood, so it's always a surprise to see what comes out of a particular trunk. The color also changes as the wood dries, and again as it ages, and can be influenced by the finish. It will be decades before the wood reaches its final hue, so it's rare to see a piece that has a definitive, final color. The color is technically always in a state of flux - it is only the exact color that you see while you are observing it. I think this is beautiful. 

What does a fruit bowl represents for you - technically, but also symbolically?

A fruit bowl represents the communal table. It represents a gathering space, a partnership among humans, and a collaboration between humans and trees. The old fruit tree holds the new fruit. The old humans teach the young about the tending of the trees. The trees nourish us, and we do our best to return the favor. It's circular, collaborative, attritive, violent, and beautiful. A fruit bowl is also a rite of passage for a woodturner. It's usually the first useful thing that you make entirely out of wood. Almost every turner will remember their first fruit bowl that they were proud of. Mine lives with my parents and I get to visit it occasionally. It's like seeing an old friend.

Can you introduce us to the two pieces you created for the Spring Selection?

The pieces that I've turned for this collection were both turned off-axis - they were not perfectly centered on the lathe as they were made, which allows me to make shapes that are not concentric or perfectly circular. While these pieces are on the lathe, they are unbalanced, which introduces significant vibration (and maybe a touch of danger). This method, though, allows for interesting shapes, and elevates one side of the piece over the other, putting it in an orientation where it faces the observer, returning their gaze. 

The pieces feel great in the hand, too - they can be gripped in ways that are unusual for a bowl. They invite the user to play with the orientation themselves. The piece has a different "feel" from different angles. It gives the user some choice in how to present it. There's a relationship there that goes beyond using the bowl purely for its function.