Ron Fleming

Born 1937, Resides in Tulsa, OklahomaRon Fleming is a native of Oklahoma. He is a professional illustrator as well as a woodturner. He's received many awards for his work including the Grand Prize in the 1991 American Crafts Awards. His most recent exhibitions took place at Arizona State University in Tempe, Oklahoma State University in Okmulgee, del Mano Gallery in Los Angeles and the Walter Arts Center in Tulsa. He is active in the American Association of Woodturners and the Wood Turning Center. Statement: I love nature. For many years I watched and helped my father and grandfather work in wood. Observing and learning, thinking and searching for a way to express the feelings and thoughts I have about nature...its beauty and its passages. Woodturning is a natural way for me to combine my capabilities as an artist and a craftsman. Whether it is the remains of a burned and charred forest transformed into a statement of "New Beginnings" or a single flower bud unfolding in spring, each piece gives me an opportunity to make a statement about the never-ending rituals of nature's evolution. Never taking a living tree but using only "given" woods, each transformed piece of wood becomes a captured moment in time of its own existence. Every form gives me a way to express my feelings about the things I see around me and to share these visions with others. Source: nmaa-ryder.si.edu