New Mexico artist Rick O’Ryan has been a woodturner for over fifty years. His work balances the natural beauty of his selections of wood with the grace and elegance of design he imposes on the wood. His designs often borrow from classic Southwestern vessel shapes. His vessels are designed and rough turned when green, and set aside to dry. After six months to a year or more of drying, a piece will be re-mounted on the lathe, and finish turned. At this stage, design subtleties are introduced. Rick’s finishes are primarily penetrating oils such as tung, urethane oil and danish oil, and he uses no stains. His finishes are hand rubbed until the desired luster is obtained. The bottom of each piece is finished, numbered, dated, and signed. As with any wood product of this nature, do not expose to direct sunlight. “First time on a lathe was in the early 1960s.. off and on since, but always part of the picture. The lathe offers the opportunity to present round, or mostly round solutions to problems as well as to create objects for which not every horizontal slice is a circle.”