Artist and wood turner Gabriel Bustamante has no plans to put his work online.
He politely brushes off questions about where one can see photographs of his exquisite wooden pieces, explaining the digital world just isn’t for him.
“People keep telling me to get a website, but that’s not for me,” he explained. “For me, you have to physically touch the work. When you see it in person, it’s different.”
Art appreciators will get to see Bustamante’s work in person starting June 1, when he and fellow artist and photographer Debby Fuller introduce their show, Into the Woods, at the Cypress Gallery in Lompoc. The pair joined forces for the exhibit, which explores wood as an artistic element of inspiration and production.
Fuller is a lifelong photographer who was first inspired by the Depression-era photographers who documented life in the 1930s. She trained as a film photographer, studying darkroom techniques and documentary-style work.
“I was always surprised at the kind of shots I would get,” Fuller said. “I’m not one who plans every shot. Some of them work and some don’t. There was always a surprise to me.”
The film photographer was unnerved at first by the advent of digital photography but quickly adapted to it. She now works exclusively in digital, printing her own images in black and white or color.
“It was a good thing for me,” Fuller said. “Photoshop intrigued me. I’d done a lot of darkroom work, but I got tired of the chemicals and the smell after awhile. Digital was great. I can make little changes. Mostly I do the types of things you would do in a darkroom, like cropping or changing color to black and white.”
Fuller said her inspiration comes from the scenery around her, including landscapes and people. For the Into the Woods show, Fuller spent about a month piecing together the right images to complement Bustamante’s artwork.
Fuller’s work featured in the show is mostly landscapes, but she also included a few abstracts and some photographs of structures such as barns, keeping in line with the overall theme of wood. Fuller, a board member at Cypress Gallery, said she volunteered to partner with Bustamante’s show to complement his sculptures and turned wood pieces.
Bustamante began his work in word turning and carving when he made a chess set for his nephew. But the process didn’t have quite the results he was looking for.
“I was interested in finding something to do in my spare time,” Bustamante said. “When I tried to do the chess set, I didn’t like the way it turned out. The round parts, as much as I tried to make them round, didn’t seem to be round.”
From there, he became interested in a process known as wood turning, in which artisans use a powerful tool called a lathe to spin blocks of wood at an extremely high speed. As it is spinning, the wood is carved with metal tools to create shapes such as vases, bowls, and more.
“It was a rough learning process,” Bustamante said. “But I joined a club in Solvang and from there I learned to do it.”
Ten years later, the Solvang artists group he belonged to is gone, but Bustamante is still turning out an impressive collection of wooden artwork, including vases, bowls, plates, and much more. He prefers to work with walnut, eucalyptus, and black acacia and always has an eye for wood with unusual qualities.
“Now I can see before I cut it that I’m going to find something. Now I look for specific pieces or types of wood,” he said. “Right now I’ve been concentrating on crunch branches, two branches joining together. Those have more characteristics, more interesting grains. … I’m looking for something that will cause a big, ‘Wow!’”
Fuller stressed that the Cypress Gallery is a volunteer-based operation and relies on community help to put on shows. She said the gallery and the artists it hosts are an important part of the Lompoc community.
“We are the only gallery in town,” she said. “To bring art to our little community is important. Art makes you feel good, and it’s a way for like-minded people to come together.”
Arts and Lifestyle Writer Rebecca Rose has firm roots. Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 24-31, 2018.