I live on an island with majestic trees. Everyday I am blessed with their beauty.

Hi everyone. I live on Mercer Island in Washington State. I was born nearby in Seattle. We have forests and so many beautiful trees here. As a boy II would spent hours sitting in their limbs and thinking. I don't know when my love of wood started but I think it was in one of those trees. Their majesty and strength fascinates me. I love their smell and I love the shear beauty of wood. It saddens me to see so many trees being taken down for new construction and tossed in land fills. I honor them with my work and pass forward their beauty through my work

I belong to the Seattle Woodturners Association. We are often called when trees are coming down or have come down due to disease or storms. We collect the trees and our members turn them into beautiful art. I enjoy making a bowl for the family who has lost their tree. Trees carry so many memories and in this way the family can pass those memories down. Wood creates its own art. I stand at my lathe with a piece of wood and have only a basic idea of what I am going to make. As I start to turn a shape begins to unfold and I can see what the wood wants. Wood is sensuous and responds to touch. Trees are given to the earth by God. I treat each piece with respect and create a piece of art that will last for generations. That's why I turn wood and it gives me great satisfaction. I hope you will feel the same way when you own one of my original works.

- Don Samuelson

All my art comes from salvaged local timber. Trees are an essential part of our world. I save trees from the land fills and create lasting beauty.

My creations are meant to be used and are hand made by me on Mercer Island in Washington.