‘A hobby that got out of control’

SUZI THAYER, Staff Reporter
Fri, 08/08/2014 - 5:30pm
RICHARD CORSON’S granddaughter, Avery, sleeps in one of his “baby bowls.” Courtesy of Richard Corson
RICHARD CORSON cuts up a sugar maple tree in Brunswick, in one of the first stages of making one of his creations. Courtesy of Richard Corson
THE AMBROSIA MAPLE lidded finial vase that Corson presented to Gov. Paul LePage. Courtesy of Richard Corson
RICHARD CORSON holds court, with two of his lidded finial vases made from ambrosia maple, similar to the one he presented to Gov. Paul LePage, in the foreground. SUZI THAYER/Boothbay Register
AN “OPEN TWISTED HOLLOW FORM” made from sugar maple Richard Corson harvested in East Boothbay. Courtesy of Richard Corson
ONE OF CORSON’S lily bowls, made from Eastern sycamore. Courtesy of Richard Corson
A “PIERCED BIRD’S MOUTH,” one of Corson’s creations, made from quaking aspen. Courtesy of Richard Corson
RICHARD CORSON explains the creative process of making of his “open twisted hollow form.” His wife, Camille is in the background. SUZI THAYER/Boothbay Register
A DISPLAY of Corson’s bowls at Once a Tree in Camden. Courtesy of Bernice Berger
A BIRD’S EYE MAPLE “pierced ruffle bowl” made by Richard Corson. Courtesy of Richard Corson
A BUNCH OF natural edge bowls waiting for Richard Corson’s artful touch in his basement, where he claims he spends most of his time. Courtesy of Richard Corson

    Wooden bowls make good vessels for salads and fruit, or simply as a centerpiece on a table, with candles standing guard next to them.

    But the wooden bowls made by craftsman Richard Corson, of Boothbay Harbor and Bremen, make you stand up and take notice.

    Corson is a self-taught wood turner and carver.

    “With degrees in the humanities and in industrial technology, and the years in manufacturing and construction, it stood to reason that upon my retirement in 2000 there would be the continued desire to make things,” Corson said.

    And living in two areas in Maine that are surrounded by lots of different kinds of trees, it seems only natural that Corson would turn to wood as his livelihood.

    “I make treen,” he said. Treen are small (household) objects made from wood.

    Once a Tree in Camden is the main outlet for Corson's creations. Owner Bernice Berger said in a recent email that she feels lucky to have them.

    “(Richard) is a top notch wood turner; and precision, design and wood choices are just part of what make Richard's works collectible,” Berger said. “It is an honor to show his craftsmanship, and he is a major part of why Once a Tree is so highly regarded.”

    Corson makes a lot of “natural edge” bowls. The edge of the bowl is the bark from the tree. Because customers have shown such interest in the process of making these, Once a Tree now has a virtual picture frame that people can cycle through to see the process.

    And then there are the “baby bowls.” While looking at one of Corson's small bowls, he said, “Now you think that's small, but I have some that I call baby bowls.”

    At that he produced a photo of a bowl, not so small. Resting inside was a baby — his granddaughter. 

    On August 1, Corson was sanding one of his “Open-Twisted-Hollow-Forms.” The sculpture was made of sugar maple from a tree in East Boothbay.

    “It was hollowed out around eight years ago,” he said. “That process took 8-10 hours, then it had to sit and dry for a couple of years.” After that he developed the template and did the lay out lines, taking another five or six hours. Then he hollowed it out again.

    “We came here (Sprucewold) the 25th of June, so I've been working on this for about five weeks to get it from a hollow form to this (unfinished) condition.”

    He said it will take another month, mostly of sanding, to complete.

    These wooden sculptures aren't functional, as bowls or a baby holders. The only function of these works of art is to please the beholder.

    All of his bowls and sculptures are carved from a solid chunk of wood, and sanded with 10 different grades of sandpaper.

    Though many of Corson's bowls are treated as art forms, some are put to practical use as salad bowls. “A lot of people treat what I call a utilitarian piece as an art piece, and display it by itself.”

    The bowls and sculptures are made in many different shapes and sizes, from many different kinds of wood, mostly native, including bird’s eye, ambrosia, spalted and sugar maple, cherry, quaking aspen, ash, oak, spalted birch and sycamore.

    Executive Director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine David Trahan, who cuts wood in his spare time, gave Corson some ambrosia maple, and in turn Corson gave Trahan a vase made with it. Impressed, Trahan asked if he would consider giving a piece like it to the governor.

    Corson made another ambrosia maple vase with a finial made from apple wood from Biscay Orchards in Damariscotta. It was presented to Governor Lepage on April 28. The governor liked it so much he bought five other pieces, one which he presented to the president of Iceland, and three (others) to CEOs of Chinese companies during a business trip to China. The fifth piece was presented to retired Maine Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services, H. Sawin Millet, Jr.

    Corson said he has been making his treen for around 12 years. “It's basically a hobby that got out of control.”

    His bowls and sculptures can be found at Once a Tree in Camden, Summer Island Studio in Brunswick and Ocean Point Furniture in Damariscotta.

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