Portrait by David Fenton

David Nittmann turns, burns and dyes 10 to 15 different wood sculptures at any given time. Employing his unique “basket illusion” technique, the Boulder, Colo.-based craftsman meticulously calibrates designs on each vessel and platter to resemble sinuous fiber “woven” into wood.

With his nimble fingers, this Master of the Southwest imparts an indelible beauty to the tight-grained woods he prefers—maple, American holly, American cherry, European pear and mahogany. And unlike artisans who protect their creations from probing hands, Nittmann exhorts, “Pick it up, feel the magic.”

Ever since he can remember, he has pursued his love of wood, from playing in his grandfather’s wood-shop to his first paid job as a sweeper at Peters’ Wooden Toy Factory in upstate New York. (His great-grandfather and grandfather built Adirondack guide boats used on New York’s Lake George.) As an adult, Nittmann worked in construction and repaired furniture and found that wood continued to consume him.

The artisan opened his own cabinet and furniture store in Fort Collins, Colo., in 1980. There, too, he co-founded the Rocky Mountain Woodturners in 1994.

“I’m in constant dialogue with nature and the beautiful surroundings where I live and run,” says Nittmann. “Nature’s colors here are phenomenal, compared to where I grew up, inspiring the fabric of the Southwest to weave its colorful magic into my wood turning.

“My designs are inspired by Native American, African and Middle Eastern basketry patterns, but all art forms and architecture intrigue me,” he adds.

With signature precision, Nittmann works as fast as he can. “Ideas keep chasing me down the street. There never seems to be enough time to do it all,” he comments.

Museums are enamored with his “basketry,” having juried him to participate in top arts and crafts shows at the Smithsonian Institution and Philadelphia Museum of Art, among others.

Del Mano Gallery of Los Angeles represents Nittmann at Sculptural Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) in New York City and Chicago. Invariably, he’s invited to exhibit at basket shows—causing him to ask, “What’s a basket?”

Crossroads Contemporary in Santa Fe also sells his pieces. “David’s detailed craftsmanship is unbelievably exquisite,” says owner Alan Day.

Nittmann had a watershed year in 2005, when he was recognized with the Artist Silver Award at the Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington, D.C., and Best of Show at Westchester Craft Show in Westchester County, N.Y.

He has mastered the art of balanced living, too, running about 50 miles weekly in the warmer months and 25 in winter. “Running is meditation, and I pitch 100 horseshoes daily,” he notes. “The steady, focused concentration grounds me for repetitive wood turning and burning.”

Nittmann also serves as a part-time faculty member at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tenn., and John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C., where he passes on his wood-turning techniques.

“Wood turning is an emerging art form. I’d like to see others take this fine art form as far as they can,” he states. “Wood is magic, beautiful, playful, familiar and strange. I cut through the bark to let the magic out.”

Sunamita Lim is author of Chinese Style: Living in Beauty and Prosperity (Gibbs Smith, 2006).

Photo by Tim Benko CD’s Vancouver Flower, quilted maple, 18 1/2" diameter

Photo by Tim Benko Caballitos de Flor, European pear, 15" diameter