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Cherry kitchen

Stephen Hynson

Stephen

Sand Hill Woodworking

An Artist’s Statement:

I have been designing and building custom furniture for over 30 years.
Self taught, I first set up shop in Hawaii, and was a founding member of the Maui Crafts Guild. I moved on to Boston a few years later, participating there in the beginnings of the studio furniture revival of the 1980’s. I later relocated to Portland, Oregon. During this time I continued to show my work in local Maui galleries. I returned to Hawaii in 2005 and broke ground on a new shop building in Haiku. With timbers harvested from Poli Poli State Park I have constructed a traditional timber frame building. Work continues on the embellishment of this structure as I reconnect with my Hawaiian roots and reestablish my business on Maui.

Over the years my work has appeared in various juried shows and exhibits in Portland, Hawaii, New York, Boston and Ohio. My work has also appeared in a variety of publications including Yankee Magazine, American Woodworker, and American Craft - A Buyers Book. The Asian influence on my work is primarily osmotic and secondarily spiritual and aesthetic. My parent’s homes in Hawaii and the Bay Area were filled with Japanese and Chinese furniture and furnishings. At the time I was fascinated with the technical virtuosity and the joinery of the furniture. As I started to design and build my own furniture I used exposed joinery and some of the motifs I remembered to launch an exploration of my own design sensibilities.

Recently informing my artistic journey was a Vision Quest in the Canyonlands of Colorado in 1999. As a direct result I obtained a Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute and have commenced a psychotherapy practice with an emphasis in depth psychology and the creative muse. I also have degrees and professional experience in anthropology, archaeology and environmental planning.

Today this personal and professional exploration in my woodworking has taken me to a form simple yet harmonic in its line, understated yet coherent in its composition, pleasing yet playful in its choice of materials, allowing for the mystery of it all, revealed and to be revealed.

 
 
Mahogany table
 

Mahogany table.

 

 
Koa chair
 

Koa dining chair

 

 
Sycamore table
 

Table base of sycamore. Glass top missing in this picture.

 

 
Mahogany kitchen
 

Mahogany kitchen.

 

Sand Hill Woodworking, Hancrafted Furniture and Custom Cabinetry

88 Noeha Place, Haiku, HI 96708, phone808.268.2946 email: hynson@europa.com
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