IRRIGON Turning a block of wood into a work of art comes naturally to John Clarke.

The 81-year-old Irrigon resident has been turning wood since he was 13 years old and he has hardly stopped since.

Clarke got started turning and polishing wood when the manager of the apartments his family was living in Billings, Mont., showed the young boy his lathe in the basement.

“He taught me how to turn,” Clarke said. “I spent two years turning wood until I discovered girls.”

Despite his new interest in girls, Clarke pursued his wood turning hobby while raising a family and running a cattle ranch in Montana. He and his wife Merry moved to Irrigon about 12 years ago to be close to his daughter and son-in-law.

“I tried farming after I retired, but I am not a farmer,” Clarke said.

Clarke turned to wood turning to fill his retirement years. He takes stumps or burls of manzanita, Norfolk Island pine, sumac, elm and spalted beech and turns them into beautiful vases, bowls and other decorative pieces.

Every piece Clarke makes is unique. He doesn’t use forms or patterns to make his one-of-a-kind wood pieces. Clarke even adds inlayed turquoise or pewter to his designs.

“I enjoy myself immensely,” Clarke said. “I can cut the same piece of wood, but every piece comes out differently. I change the shape and angle.”

Although working with wood can be a challenge, turning the wood keeps Clarke motivated.

“I am never bored,” Clarke says.

Clarke used to teach classes, however, he says now it is difficult to meet schedules. He still teaches a woman from the Tri-Cities occassionally.

“There are no young people who are interested,” Clarke said.

People bring Clarke interesting or rare pieces of wood all the time. He has wood pieces from as far away as Burma and as near as the Blue Mountains of Oregon.

Wood pieces with a green tint to them come from sumac trees. Darker woods could be black walnut

He says hard wood that hasn’t spalted can last for years. Spalt is the combination of a wood decay and a wood coloration mechanism.

“Moisture starts bacteria that decomposes the wood,” Clarke said. “The spalting leaves the stains (on the wood).”

That bacteria makes for some interesting designs in Clarke’s bowls and vases. Each wood’s bacteria causes different colored spalting. For example, blue pine has blue bacteria.

Clarke sells most of his works at craft shows, bazaars and artists’ fairs. He has set up a website to sell his work, taking digital photos of his pieces in a studio set aside in his workshop.

For more information about Clarke’s work, visit his website at www.theturningshop.com or call Clarke at 922-3739.