When Portland-based artist Brett Stenson studied illustration at college, he hangs out with some industrial designers and takes a closer look at such designers. “We spent a lot of late night watching 3D modeling tutorials, weird on carved clay figures, and re-watching WētāWorkshop DVDs on the build Lord of the Rings He told the huge. Stenson was particularly fascinated by the world of vinyl toys and wanted him to know how to make his own work even if the learning curve felt steep.
The artist’s interest began to shift as he considered a more approachable medium that would make it easier to realize what he wanted to create. “Even then, Wood always felt like the material I’m most relevant,” he said. “I was attracted to antiques and vintage objects – it felt like it was handmade, warm and intent. Vinyl, while cool, never resonated in the same way.”
In 2018, Stenson signed a Wildcraft workshop at a studio school in Portland to learn how to make Nordic carved wooden Christmas decorations. “Suddenly, I could see endless possibilities – if I could outline it, I could carve it,” the artist said. “The tools, the process, and even the idea of being one of the old guys who wandered around the woodworking shop all day – all of which felt very romantic and consistent with the people I wanted to grow up with.”
Stenson started with a simple knife and began to fall toward the big lumber, only to find that he soon needed to upgrade to better tools so that the process didn’t happen forever. Before committing to wood, he also introduced clay modeling in more plastic materials, making up animals, numbers and other objects. He focuses on fanatical bears and other woodland creatures that often carry freshly pulled fish or flowers, and he emphasizes the perception of emotions through the animals – the sweet sly or charming bear of the fox is proud of its fresh capture.
“Recently, my obsession with carving bears has begun to change,” Stenson said. “I find myself more interested in exploring the human aspect of the work.” Since his recent loss of the dog, he has been exploring a subject that seems irrelevant at least at first, but outdated technologies such as retro television, satellites, old computers and abandoned telecom equipment involve what he described as “a futile attempt to communicate with him again.” He added that he was interested in “all of these tools we built up to build each other, but the afterlife is still out of reach.”
Stenson is also the senior artistic director of Brooklyn’s branding and packaging design studio Young Jerks. See more works on his website and Instagram and find screen prints for sale in his store.
