Meet the Maker
Michael Murphy, Board Certified Master Arborist, (NJ-0146B) Turned Wood Turner
How it all started
Preservation Tree Art is the artistic endeavor of Michael Murphy, a Board Certified Master Arborist with over 40 years of practical experience in commercial arboriculture. During that time he was always aware of the intriguing and impressive way some trees presented themselves when cut into. His appreciation of these unique and dynamic wood textures speak through his unique creations.
As a retired arborist, Michael now spends most of his free time creating art forms, honed from these same local trees that he had cared for.
“Wood textures have always fascinated me. Turning allows me to remove excess wood and discover more of these intriguing hidden textures. I feel that I am an artisan who creates pieces by uncovering the intrinsic beauty of the wood through the removal of multi-layers, much like fine artists do while adding layers in their own media.”
Philosophy
While a tree cannot live forever, it can be preserved forever in these art forms. Michael likes to accentuate the natural aging process and imperfections in wood by transforming them from negative to positive features in each piece. He also chooses interesting and unique woods to work with that display natural hues and nuances, at times adding enhancements to cracks like copper and turquoise. He considers the items on this site as a tree-to-table selection of hand-crafted bowls and other wood products, made from locally sourced unique trees with providence to the Lowcountry of South Carolina.
“I’d like to attest to the fact that no live trees were harmed in the creation of these bowls.......but I can’t. All of these trees were compromised by tropical storms or hurricanes, removed for arboriculturally sound reasons or devastated by the very insect and disease vectors that have helped create their unique character.”
“Bowls are turned by fools like me, but only God could make the tree. (With apologies to Joyce Kilmer.)”