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We spotted Jeff's work recently while visiting the Ridgefield Guild of Artists Show. Jeff's work stood out immediately. His wonderful cherry and walnut lamps are a work of art. Jeff is soft spoken and humble about his work, it was a privilage to interview him for East Coast Artisan.
Tell me what you do?
I go out and harvest spalted Sugar Maples. I find the trees myself. The state sometimes takes them down and I come with a chain saw. I throw away as much as I turn since they are sometimes rotten. Most of them are too far gone so there is a lot of waste. I then block the wood into 6 x 6 pieces and then let them sit for a year or sometimes more to dry. I then rough turn them and then I let them sit for a little bit longer to make sure they are dried and then we finish turn them. I combine black walnut, cherry, and Honduras mohagany for the lamps. I try to get a lot of chocolate color spalting and combine it with black walnut so that it picks up the colors of the middle of the lamp, it helps bring it out the natural beauty of the wood. I also make vases, work with cherry burls for bowls and wine stoppers, and make flat pots that hold flowers. We used to do mirrors and clocks but have not done them for a few years, but I think we are going to start making them again.
How long have you been doing crafts shows?
Thirty-six years. I did pottery with my ex-wife for 18 years and I have been doing wood turning for 18 years.
Have craft shows changed?
Yes, they used to be very profitable back in the 70s and 80s and the booth fees were more reasonable. We would walk away from a bigger show with four or five thousand dollars having only paid a couple hundred for the booth fee. The crafts back then were more grass roots. I start from scratch and make something nice. That is how most of us used to do it. Now there might only be a few craftsmen at a show who actually make things totally from scratch.
How often do you work on your pieces?
I work all the time on my pieces. People don't realize the amount of time I put into my pieces. It is a lot of work to go out and find logs, cut them down, dry them and turn them. When people ask me how long it takes me to create a piece I really don't know since there are so many steps.
Where can your work be seen?I don't have a website, I used to do wholesale too but I stopped because I was too busy with the craft shows. My ex-wife and I were in the Smithsonian once with our pottery collection. Now I sell to a couple of small shops in my area. I am thinking of going back to wholesale instead of paying the high fees for craft shows so I don't ose my weekends. Wholesale used to work out well for us.
Jeff Coan can be reached at 860-824-5386, PO Box 651, East Canaan, CT 06024.