David Carlson

Artist Statement

Although Dave Carlson now lives in Travelers Rest, SC, he had lived on St. John since 1992 and owned Carlson Construction until he retired in 2020. He's spent the last twenty plus years building custom homes and cabinetry.

After living through two Category 5 hurricanes, Irma and Maria, and faced with helping to rebuild St. John, he decided he needed a stress reliever. He bought a wood lathe, started wood turning and that's where the story begins.

As an artist and craftsman, he wanted a more creative approach to hand turning, so he started looked at combining pigmented resin with woodturning.

Dave's first turned pieces were made from St. John's downed trees. Many pieces are created from the native Sea Grape tree, scavenged from Maho beach after the hurricanes.