In Today’s Edition of Scalzi Buys Art: “Oscillations” by Johnna Y. Klukas
Posted on February 1, 2016 Posted by John Scalzi 41 Comments
Last month I was the author guest of honor at the Arisia convention, and Johnna Y. Klukas was the artist guest of honor. She works primarily with wood, and had brought a number of pieces to the convention to show off as examples of her work, and to sell. One piece I had admired, and which my eye kept coming back to, was one called “Oscillations.” The piece was up for sale and I didn’t want to deprive any Arisia attendee of the opportunity to purchase it for themselves, so I didn’t put in an offer. But then it was Sunday and they were about to pack it up, so I said, “Hey, that one? I’ll totally buy it.”
And I did! And now here it is at my house, and I think it’s lovely. And so does Krissy, which is a good thing, because it’s not small, and now she has to find a place for it in our house.
In any event, I wanted to show off my new acquisition, so look: Here it is. And if you like it, here’s Johnna Klukas’ Web site, with other pieces she has done. Well worth the look, and I’m sure you can check with her to see what she has available for sale.
Very nice piece. Enjoy it!
I’ve seen her work during at least one local convention – amazing work.
Ooh, the Pretty!
I’m no one’s idea of an art connoisseur, but I know what I like. And I like that piece. I’m saving the link to her site, just in case there’s a minor windfall in my future. Hopefully, she’ll have something similar and smaller, so I can snap it up!
That’s lovely, and I can see why it drew your eye … the movement in it draws you in. Looks like maple?
Handsome addition to your home!
Very cool, like Protomolecule rings or a compact wormhole. Care to share a picture of the opposite side?
It’s a beautiful piece and Oscillations is a name that suits it. Just try to keep it safe from the feline population of your home ;)
Looks kinda like the coronal cross-section of a rose. Very nice! I hope you and Krissy enjoy it for many years to come.
For a more active sculpture – when I saw the name ‘Oscillations,’ this is what I was expecting – check out woodthatworks.com We have a couple of these kinetic sculptures and they are delightful both visually and aurally.
When I started out doing wood turning about 10 years ago I came across a few of her rocket ship pieces and utterly fell in love with them. I contacted her via email and struck up a conversation with her. She was very open, friendly and helpful. Later in the year, I found I was going to be traveling in her area and when I mentioned this to her, she kindly invited me to visit her shop and take a peek. I was floored and happily excepted. She was incredibly gracious and friendly, answering all my questions and showing me various tiny parts and pieces she was working on (including part of the “Hall of the Mountain King” which had been disassembled for shipping: http://www.jykboxes.com/homk.html ). She even showed me some off axis turning technics and then let me try them out for myself. I was utterly in awe. She and her husband even invited me to stay for dinner (again, happily excepted). She is still a huge inspiration to me in so many ways, not just as an artist but as a human being. She is a true talent and an incredibly nice person.
When I started out doing wood turning about 10 years ago I came across a few of her rocket ship pieces and utterly fell in love with them. I contacted her via email and struck up a conversation with her. She was very open, friendly and helpful.
Later in the year, I found I was going to be traveling in her area and when I mentioned this to her, she kindly invited me to visit her shop and take a peek. I was floored and happily excepted. She was incredibly gracious and friendly, answering all my questions and showing me various tiny parts and pieces she was working on (including part of the “Hall of the Mountain King” which had been disassembled for shipping: http://www.jykboxes.com/homk.html ). She even showed me some off axis turning technics and then let me try them out for myself.
I was utterly in awe. She and her husband even invited me to stay for dinner (again, happily excepted). She is still a huge inspiration to me in so many ways, not just as an artist but as a human being. She is a true talent and an incredibly nice person.
Ooooohhhh…
That is truly a lovely piece. I can completely see why it pulled you in, and I’m happy you are able to give it a good home. I firmly believe that art should live with people who love it.
Thanks also for the link to her site; I may be compelled to peruse it by and by. Purely for research, of course. Just research. Of course.
I feel like it is looking at me.
It’s telling me to say “that is awesome!”
Oooh! That’s so cool! They really captured it.
A wonderful piece, so glad you were able to get it and enjoy it.
When my daughter was applying to colleges–all fine arts schools–one of the ones she was interested in attending was the California College of Arts and Crafts in San Francisco. I gave her a stern look and asked her why this would be worth what it would cost me, thinking of crafts as making potholders clothespin dolls, and clay ashtrays. She informed me that there was a specific definition of both art and crafts, and a firm delineation between them. Arts are painting and sculpture (including abstract sculpture); crafts are everything else–all glasswork, to include stained glass, all woodworking and stone work that isn’t sculpture, all pottery, jewelry, and most metalwork. I’d never heard the distinction before, but since I’ve always admired what she described as crafts I understood. (I can’t for the life of me understand why a beautiful piece of Murano glass or an intricate piece of glazed pottery isn’t considered as art, but whatever.)
Behold the “Eye of Scalzi.”
All kidding aside, nice acquisition. . .
Groovy :-)
For those of you who are going “ooh, shiny” Johnna takes commissions. Contact her (Scalzi linked to her website above in the main post). She’s good people.
This post is just further evidence that we (The Arisia Staff and Volunteers) put on a GOOD convention this year. All our Guests of Honor were wonderful, and I’m glad that they ended up interacting with each other in a myriad of ways, including this one.
-Kris “Nchanter” Snyder
Arisia 2016 Convention Chair
Gorgeous!
She does nice work. I only wish some of the images on her website could be clicked on to enlarge; I want to look at the details.
I love her stuff! We highlighted her work at Fantasy Literature (http://www.fantasyliterature.com/wwwednesday/wwwednesday-january-20-2016/) and I was drooling over the elegant desk.
I would love to see her work “live” and in person.
Gorgeous! After looking through her site, now I want to learn how to make pretty things with wood! Maybe I should stick with making pretty things with yarn… Or maybe both?
That’s how I like to buy art- the pieces that keep drawing me back.
So you bought this with money you aren’t earning from SJW books which aren’t selling?
Impressive.
Wow, I love that on so many levels. The warmth and variation of the wood, the way the different pieces fit together, the carving…
Beautiful piece of woodworking. I’d love to see the back if the mounting marks were still there & not sanded off.I might be able to turn something like that myself but it would be very tricky as the piece is going to be unbalanced most of the time, it would be easy to have it come apart I think. The creator has some skill.
Is Murano glass not art? Chihuly glass is.
I commissioned a very nice rocketship from her collection. Thanks for the link. They are very beautiful and not so expensive. And she is easy to communicate with. I am so glad to have seen her work here. Thanks.
That’s a lovely piece! Any SF con I go to, I always spend a large amount of time in the artroom and come home with at least one painting (usually paintings rather than sculpture, in my case, but her pieces are great).
Those of you who want to see the back, go to the artist’s website.
Not only do I love this gorgeous piece, but I also like the way Scalzi photographed it amid similar colors and textures, but with the two bands of darker area on the sides to make a nice contrast. The work looks quite at home!
spécialiste de retour d’affection et de richesse immediat
“Spend $ on experiences, not things” says the internet meme.
Art is cool partly because it manages to do both at once.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
@Elizabeth McFadden: Yep, her website says it’s maple. Well, and walnut too. I can’t tell these things personally.
I love that piece. Used to work with someone who did woodwork as a hobby, specifically with a lathe. He would make bowls from a single piece of wood sometimes making the sides so thin light would come through. I was so impressed I commissioned a piece from him. Before he retired he gave me a couple more for free. One was a wooden wine glass with a 1/4″ stem. Love wood.
I loved her wood-turning demo at Arisia. Went home with an abstract story/watercolor that got its hooks in me instead of a rocketship, but I really really like Klukas’ work, and she certainly was very generous with her time and expertise during the demo. Glad this piece found a good home!
Lovely! Of course, quantum oscillations can lead to quantum chaos.
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http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/quantum-chaos-subatomic-worlds/
Very glad you were our GoH and that you had a good time as well as coming home with something so striking and lovely, Wonderful of you also to give props to the artist. Thank you again!
Dear John,
Fortunately for you, I could not figure out where that piece would fit in my house and so I very reluctantly passed on it. Sigh.
Johnna’s prices are extraordinarily reasonable, even within the SF community. If the real art world ever discovers her, she’s gonna be adding one or two zeros. Folks, grab her stuff while you can.
pax / Ctein
Thanks, John! I’m glad it arrived safely.