James Barnes

James Barnes is a woodworker in the Blue Ridge Highlands.  A walk into the forest begins the search for stumps, burls or gnarled trees that show the character of time.  James then turns these found woods native to his home state of Virginia.

With a vessel turned, James then begins his inlay process.  Using the most exotic woods of the world, he inlays a myriad of designs.  He then wraps metal around the inlay to create original, one-of-a-kind wood cloisonné style works of art.

His specific vision is in the design; ancient forms with a modern twist. Mother nature brings her part, the beauty of the wood figure. James’s part is to use the vessel as a canvas to inlay designs and introduce elements that nature never intended. Then there are the gray areas that make the viewer wonder whose hand is responsible: nature’s or the artist’s.