Craig Altobello
uses the natural color, grain, and texture of wood to create images from nature. Red maple seedpods, a hermit thrush perched on a log, painted trillium, songbirds migrating across the moon, and local landscapes are some of the subjects of his work, made primarily from native woods — including some from Hancock.
His Harris Center exhibit — Art in Wood: A Celebration of Forest Life — celebrates the abundance of life in the forest and the astonishing beauty we can discover every day. It will be on display through May 2020 (COVID-19, permitting) in the Thelma Babbitt Room. He will hold an opening reception, as well as a discussion and demonstration with forest ecologist Jeremy Wilson. Dates for both events TBD.
About the Artist
Craig Altobello was introduced to woodworking in 1978 during a workshop with designer/craftsman Thomas Moser of Maine. Ever since, he has been making furniture for his family and friends.
His path to marquetry grew out of teaching middle school science, where he and his students documented their outdoor explorations through writing and art using cut paper collage. Craig saw the potential to work with the colors and grain patterns of wood to bring “collage” to his woodworking, so he traveled to the College of the Redwoods in California to learn marquetry. The knowledge and skills gained in that course provided a touchstone experience and launched him into his current work.
Craig is a juried member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen and a participant in the annual Monadnock Art Open Studio Art Tour held annually on Columbus Day weekend. You can learn more about his work at craigaltobello.com.
Artist Statement
Like people, trees respond to what happens to them. What they live through creates their character. Sunlight and soil, ice and wind…All these things leave their unique mark on the inside. I work wood’s diverse color, grain, and texture, patiently and meticulously, to reveal the ‘inside story’. And like people, this story hidden beneath the bark is beautiful, and forever astonishing.
— Craig Altobello
