Lindsey Bark
Cherokee Phoenix
MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Since retiring in 2013, Cherokee Nation citizen Fred Rogers has turned his focus to woodturning and epoxy resin, combining the two crafts to create works of art.
Rogers makes what he calls “bowl art.” It consists of woodturning different types of wood into a bowl shape and filling in the rest with resin.
“What I did when I first started was just turned wood pieces, and then I saw the resin, you know, mixed with the wood. So I decided I want to do that,” he said. “I just find the wood and then of course use a chainsaw and cut it up into pieces that I can form into more of a bowl. Usually there are all kinds of different shapes, which you put on the lathe, and then you can make them round.”
Rogers uses mostly native wood from Oklahoma such as pecan and walnut. One of his most unique designs he has is the “Cherokee flag bowl.”
The bowl, about a foot in width, resembles the Cherokee Nation seal, using wood and orange and green colored resin. He said that when he pours resin into a mold, he has to do it in layers to create the design he has in mind.
“This one, I probably spent 20 hours,” he said. “This one had to be poured in four different pours.”
Other techniques he uses in the process is sanding the bowl down and putting on a finish to “make it real shiny” and make the colors stand out.
“When you sand it, it looks like it’s never going to be anything because it looks like it’s real dull. When you get it down to the last sanding … it’s still dull, but you put finish on it; its back bright,” he said.
Another bowl he calls the “star bowl” shows a wooden star mixed in with yellow, swirling, glittery resin.
“The wood is Peruvian walnut. So I had to cut all those (pieces) and sanded them, and then get them put in place,” he said.
Rogers said he plans to get more intricate with his designs, working on incorporating more images and words into the woodwork. He also creates other items such as vases and candleholders
“I’m working on getting some other equipment so I can do some more intricate carvings inside of them. I want to start making some bowls with buffalo and seven-pointed stars and different things in the inside of it,” he said.
Rogers is looking into marketing his craft more by planning to enter into more art shows and potentially sell at the Spider Gallery in Tahlequah.
His work can be viewed and purchased on his Facebook page, Cherokee Bowl Art LLC. For more information, call 336-414-5185 or email cherokeebowlart@gmail.com.
