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Prey and Predator

Title: Prey and Predator

Price: $600

Wood Species: Briar Root

Width: (widest point) 3 1/8 inches Height: 2 inches

Width: (thinnest point) 1 3/8 inches Height: (including base) 2 15/16 inches

On March 10th of 2001 I was lucky enough to spend some time with Max Donson and interview him about his work and his philosophy. I asked him about the above piece "Prey and Predator". The following excerpts are from that interview WinePhilosopher

Interview

WinePhilosopher: Max! can you shed some light on “Prey and Predator”?

Max Donson: “Prey and Predator” I would say was a controlled accident. I was looking thru my brier bins. Brier is a root that is very dents and the surface of the root itself is called the plateau and it’s very gnarly and takes on all kinds of very interesting affects. Here was this block, and I saw a face in one corner that was very ominous. The farther away you held the piece the more you could see the face. It’s a pretty scary face wouldn’t you say?

WP: Yes, it looks threatening.

Max: So I thought of it as a predator and I started to work around that. Broad value, very little detail because these natural inclusions were saying a lot more than I could. On the other side of the piece I added something completely different, of which is the prey. It’s more gentle and sheepish. The prey and the predator; and lo and behold! as I was in the final sanding I noticed that there was an inclusion where the eye would be on the prey side, it was a natural inclusion that looked like a very gentle and submissive eye! It was in the wood, in the grain itself.

WP: It’s amazing how one side is so strong with its convex shapes and the other side passive with beautifully flowing concave shapes. To me it reflects the meaning of the Yin and Yang sign, in that it has a strong side, and a passive side, but both sides are part of the One, or in this case one piece of art.

WP: Where does brier root come from?

Max: This piece is from Greece. It also grows in Spain and around the Mediterranean. It’s a very hard wood.

WP: It must be hard to work with?

Max: Yes, you need very sharp tools and allot of patience.

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