Mike Cope is featured in this gallery

Serving Southeastern West Virginia

I came to my wood art after 35 plus years in the basic science side of medical education. The wood turning exercises the opposite side of my brain than I used all those years. My craft allows me to create objects that are beautiful examples of the varieties of colors and patterns found in wood. The studio name – “C” (See) The Grain – derives from this idea; and the logo contains my initials.

I take two approaches to my wood turning. My favorite approach is to find a gnarly piece of wood and let its inner beauty come out. The second approach is to take a section of a log, split it in half and turn the two pieces differently. These “fraternal twins”- one a natural edge bowl and the other a straight edge bowl - reveal the same graining in two distinct patterns. For both approaches I prefer to use green wood, turn the bowl to its final dimensions and allow each piece as it dries to warp to its own unique shape. With either approach I am attempting to coax out of the wood a lithe agile form that has volume without mass. All my bowls are treated with salad bowl finish because it gives a soft luster and they are food safe.

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