A6
Arts
wallowa.com
September 6, 2017
Wallowa County Chieftain
Joseph craftsman fi nds art in bowls
Tom Clevenger
says he fell into
his passion for
lathe work
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
The fi rst thing you notice
when you enter the wood shop
of Joseph bowl-turner Tom
Clevenger is the neatness. No
sawdust hanging from ceiling,
no cobwebs, no sharp tools
laying about waiting to taste
errant fl esh.
The whole area is as clean
as the designs on the bowls
and vases you see on display at
the Stewart Jones Designs gal-
lery on Main Street in Joseph.
Clevenger, who retired
from the Costa Mesa, Calif.,
fi re department after 23 years,
moved to Wallowa County in
2002. He fell into his hobby by
happenstance in 2008.
The artist and his wife,
Denise, lived on Liberty Road
outside of Joseph at the time. A
case of cabin fever found Cle-
venger out in his shop playing
with an old lathe.
Working on a bowl made
from green wood and not very
symmetrical nearly beat him
to death. When he returned
the next morning, the lathe
bed was rusty from the green
wood.
“I thought well, this sucks,”
Clevenger said. “Then I saw a
segmented piece on the Inter-
net, and I thought I’d try that.
I made a couple of trial pieces,
which I still have.”
Segmented bowls are
made by stacking and gluing
together many segments of
FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS COMING
The 34th annual
Wallowa Valley Festival
of the Arts will be
Sept. 13-17 at Josephy
Community Center in
Joseph. Events include:
• En Plein Air
Competition and
Exhibit Wednesday
and Thursday with a
public quick finish and
special reception and
art hanging 3-8 p.m.
Thursday at Josephy
Center.
• Afternoon and evening
Joseph Gallery Walk 4-6
p.m. Thursday on Main
Street in Joseph.
• Showings of selected
short films from Ruby
Peak Film Festival 3
p.m. Friday and 1 p.m.
Saturday at Josephy
Center.
• Special Local Youth
Arts Showcase all
weekend at Joseph
Center.
• Hilarious “Art That
Makes You Laugh”
presentation by Jeff
Leedy noon at Josephy
Community Center.
“I want this to go to a local farmer
or rancher who has these brands ...
That’s what I’m hoping.”
— Tom Clevenger
Joseph artist
carefully cut blocks, some
inlaid before they are roughly
turned to shape inside and out
by a lathe. A disc sander and
drum sander are also part of
the process.
Clevenger worked at per-
fecting his technique, and the
success of his next attempts
enticed the artist to enter sev-
eral pieces in the Wallowa Val-
ley Arts Festival the following
September.
Clevenger walked away
with a fi rst place for one piece
and also sold two pieces.
The artist now has his work
shown exclusively at Stew-
art Jones Designs in Joseph
where several of his creations
are available.
“I never started out to do
it,” he said. “It just happened,
and I’m glad that people want
to buy my stuff,” Clevenger
said.
A segmented bowl is more
than labor intensive. It can take
days just to get the segments
cut correctly and the grain ori-
ented smoothly.
He doesn’t know how
T HE B OOKLOFT
AND
Skylight Gallery
Steve Tool/Chieftain
Retired firefighter-turned-artist Tom Clevenger works on a segmented bowl featuring the
brands of eight local ranches. Below, four of his bowls in various stages of completion. The
papers in front of each piece contain the bowl’s technical information as well as a rough
drawing of its ultimate design.
many segments of wood actu-
ally make up a typical piece of
his work.
“I don’t try to count them
all,” he said. “I don’t have
time.”
Surprisingly, fi nishing is
the most time-consuming part
of the process.
“It sometimes take two or
three weeks just to do the fi n-
ish,” Clevenger said.
“I’ll seal it with clear shel-
lac just to keep the colors from
running. Then I’ll put on three
or four real heavy Waterlox
coats and wet sand and repeat
maybe about a dozen times.”
Clevenger’s latest creation,
a segmented bowl/vase inlaid
with eight local cattle brands
and barb-wire, is one of his
favorites.
“I wanted to do something
Western,” Clevenger said. “A
lot of the stuff I do is kind of
southwestern, Native-Amer-
ican, that type of thing. I’ve
done some contemporary
pieces, but I wanted to do
something where I’d be able to
pick up something of the West-
ern theme.”
The artist conceived the
idea for the brands theme
while eating at the Cheyenne
Café in Joseph.
How did he fi nd and choose
the brands?
Clevenger went to the state
Church
Finding books is our specialty
541.426.3351 • 107 E. Main • Enterprise • www.bookloftoregon.com
Directory
Church of Christ
502 W. 2nd Street • Wallowa
541-398-2509
Worship at 11 a.m.
Mid-week
Bible Study 7 p.m.
St. Patrick’s
Episcopal Church
100 NE 3rd St, Enterprise
NE 3rd & Main St
541-426-3439
Worship Service
Sunday 9:30am
brands book and chose a few
of the more interesting look-
ing brands with one caveat:
Straight lines.
The artist said he’d need to
get a very good scroll saw to
cut the intricate inlays required
of a rounded letter, horse or
elk.
The bowl is composed of
cherry, ebony, bloodwood,
maple and ipe, which is
extremely dense and durable.
“I want this to go to a
local farmer or rancher who
has these brands, and it’ll be
priced so that one of them can
bring it home. That’s what I’m
hoping.”
A Taste of
Heaven
S ep t
emb
er
14th
-16th
Joseph United
Methodist
“The Place”
301 Lake St Joseph
Fsr Men & Wsmen
St. Katherine’s
Catholic Church
Fr. Francis Akano
301 E. Garfi eld Enterprise
Mass Schedule
Tues-Fri 8:00 am
Saturdays 5:30pm Sundays 10:30am
(541)426-4008
stkatherineenterprise.org
St. Pius X Wallowa Sundays 8:00am
All are welcome
Joseph United
Methodist Church
CLUES ACROSS
1. Cereal grain
5. Small constellation
8. Pouch
11. Beef comes in these
13. Chest muscle
14. Maine city
15. Salian
16. Int’l fraternal organization
17. Greek god of war
18. Canadian harbour
20. Firearm
21. Deities
22. North, Central and South
25. After the 16th
30. Used in herbal medicine
31. Whale (Norwegian)
32. Excessive fluid accumulation in
tissues
33. Insect appendages
38. Relative biological effectiveness
(abbr.)
41. Small Arab monarchy
43. Former U.S. President
45. Short-lived, slender insects
47. Forms after a cut
49. Fuel
50. Made of wood
55. Whale ship captain
56. Small bed
57. Supreme being
59. NY Giants owner
60. Consumed
61. Jewish spiritual leader
62. Promotional materials
63. Business term
64. Famous cartoonist
CLUES DOWN
1. Former CIA
2. Expression of sorrow or pity
3. Rhythmic patter in Indian music
4. Invests in little enterprises
5. Highest point
6. Incomes
7. Poisonous plant
8. Period in astronomy
9. Passed with flying colors
10. Professional certificate
12. Dublin college scholar
14. Heroic tale
19. Satisfy
23. __ student, learns healing
24. Beloved golfer Rodriguez
25. Car mechanics group
26. Not the start
27. Engage in a contest
28. Energy-saving module
29. Within reach
34. Forms adjectives
35. Snitch
36. Data executive
37. Hostelry
39. Helps people see
40. “MASH” actor Gould
41. Bridge building degree
42. Moreover
44. Spoke
45. Volcanic craters
46. Swedish rock group
47. __ Veda: liturgical chant
48. Former footballer Ochocinco
51. Swiss river
52. Klu Klux __
53. Italian Island
54. Catches
58. Baseball stat
3rd & Lake St. • Joseph
Pastor Cherie Dearth
Phone: 541-432-3102
Sunday Worship Service
10:00 am
JosephUMC.org
Summit Church
Gospel Centered Community
Service time: 10:30 am
Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise
541-426-2150
www.summitchurchoregon.org
Faith
Lutheran
Church
409 W. Main
Enterprise, Oregon
Worship 2 nd & 4 th Sundays - 2 pm
Bible Study
2 nd & 4 th Thursdays - 11 am
LCMS
(Lutheran Church Missouri Synod)
SCHEDULE
OF MEETINGS:
•Thursday: 7 pm
(Church Sanctuary)
•Friday: 10 am & 7 pm
•Saturday: 10 am
Meeting & Lunchesn
( Wsmen Only)
•Saturday: 7 pm
Clssing Meeting
Hosted by:
*Jackie (Nash) Matthews
Sam (Slinker) Luttenberger
Christie Moore Ministries
*Please RSVP 598-949-5548
to Jackie by September 13
for women’s luncheon.
(no child care provided)
Enterprise
Christian Church
85035 Joseph Hwy • (541) 426-3449
Worship at 9 a.m.
Sunday School at 10:30 a.m.
Evening Worship at 6 p.m.
(nursery at A.M. services)
Introducing you to the
new owner of
Bennett Insurance Agency!
“Loving God & One Another”
David Bruce, Sr. - Minister
Lostine
Presbyterian Church
Enterprise Community
Congregational Church
Discussion Group 9:30 AM
Worship Service 11:00 AM
The Big Brown Church
Childrens program during service
Blog: dancingforth.blogspot.com
541.398.0597
Hwy 82, Lostine
Stephen Kliewer, Minister
Wallowa
Assembly
of God
606 West Hwy 82
Wallowa, Oregon
541-886-8445
Sunday School • 9:30
Worship Service • 10:45
Pastor Tim Barton
wallowaassemblyofgod.com
with an open door
Pastor Archie Hook
Sunday Worship 11am
Bible Study 9:30am
Ark Angels Children’s Program
Ages 4-6th grade, 11am
Nursery for children 3 & under
301 NE First St. • Enterprise, OR
Find us on Facebook! 541.426.3044
Seventh-Day Adventist
Church & School
Hailie began her career with
Bennett Insurance Agency as a
Customer Service Representative
and within the last few years
she has grown into a successful
agent. She is excited about her
new endeavor and looks
forward to representing
Wallowa County and the
surrounding areas.
Take time today to stop by and
say hello to Hailie Hillock!
305 Wagner (near the Cemetery)
P.O. Box N. Enterprise, OR 97828
541-426-3751 Church
541-426-8339 School
Worship Services
Sabbath School 9:30 - 10:45 a.m.
Worship Hour 11:00 a.m. - Noon
Pastor Jonathan DeWeber
541 - 426 - 4208
Locally Owned & Operated
616 W. North St., Enterprise