John Brien
Artist, Engineer, Musician, and Woodworker. I grew up with a book in one hand and a pencil in the other. My insatiable thirst to dismantle and rebuild the world around me. Drawing the leaves from a tree later in life, then understanding the mathematics that create the patterns I so delicately sketched. Life took me into the computer world which eventually grew into web site development. Speaking both “Geek” and artist I found a unique niche sitting between developers and artists. This consisted of translation between acronym filled jargon from someone who hasn’t seen the sun in decades, and those that seem completely unaware of anything outside of their own heads. After about ten years of my head spinning and little satisfaction in the new model of disposable design, I began retreating to a small shop to create something “tangible” as I would tell colleagues.
Learning by Doing, the way I have done since a child, I went headlong down a craftsman’s path. Balancing between contracted technology work and long sought after shop time, eventually clients started to come about asking for me to do work for them. Everything and anything made from wood became requested, and I happily obliged if not to just get away from the sterile technology. Decks, fences, stairs, and cabinetry was where it began, then blossomed into doors, windows, and intricate trim work. In the end, the computer just became another tool, seeing it as no different than one of my many hammers. The world of computer design and development just had morphed into something else, finally being tempered a real object.
Quite a few years have passed since, but now the traditional methods of using my hands clarify lifestyle choices. Exploring and sharing the deep respect for nature and showcasing her natural beauty through the woodworks made through my hands. Always having an admiration of the world around me and the beauty it can bestow, interests in sustainability and the impact of my work had on the world around me increasingly became important. Green building and concepts surrounding simple lifestyle activities slowly became my normal routines and eventually became the only way I did business. My lifestyle focus is health and longevity, as is the focus with my work and craftsmanship.
