Welcome to Northwind Fine Arts

I moved to Saranac Lake in 2004 from North Carolina and am a professional forester with degrees from North Carolina State University in Forestry and Business.  My wife and I have raised our son and daughter in Saranac Lake and are now empty nesters with our two beloved Golden Retrievers.

I started turning wood as a hobby twenty-five years ago but became more serious about it when my kids went to college and I had more time to devote to the craft.  Over these recent few years, my roles as a forester and as a woodturner have become more intertwined. As I am working during the day in the woods, I find that I am connected to the forest not only by the aspects of my job, but also by my woodturning.  

Coming across wood with interest and character for a medium to turn is so rewarding.  That turning then creates a new connection to the forest. In our world today, I see (and others have written about) a lack of connection to the forest; art is a wonderful way to change that. 

My work consists primarily of bowls, platters and hollow forms - some being more practical and others more artistic.  For me, the wood is the medium and the challenge is to turn something that is unique, beautiful and represents this area.  Most of the wood I turn comes from the Northern New York Adirondack region.

I am a member of The American Association of Woodturners, the Northeastern Woodworkers Association, the Adirondack Woodturners Association as well as the Woodchuck Turners of Northern Vermont. 

My website  (www.damonhartmanwoodturning.com) and Instagram account (@dhartmanwoodturning) both include many photographs of current and past work. 

NorthWind Fine Arts is proud to present 'Point of View,’ featuring jewelry & mixed media by Shawn Lewis Halperin and paintings by Mary Woodcock Johnson from October 1-October 31, 2021.  Meet the artists dates are:  Shawn, Oct. 6, 7, and 31. Mary, Oct. 14, 20, and 28.  

Stories can be told from one of three main points of view: first person, second person, or third person. Each of the different modes offers an author particular options and benefits, and the point of view that an author chooses will have a tremendous impact on the way that a reader engages with a story.  

With art it is similar. Artists present their subject in a particular point of view and perspective. Styles and techniques can tell a story to the viewer and convey a feeling that has different impacts. The artist decides how much information to give and what to leave out, giving the onlooker the format to decipher and imagine.

Shawn uses bronze, sterling and wood in varied combinations in her jewelry. The results are unique in the jewelry realm and each is a work of art. Her mixed media wall pieces combine bark, wood and canvas.

Mary’s latest oil paintings focus on nature and scenes viewed while walking local trails.

Mary & Shawn both admire and use birds as subject matter. Both artists included a piece illustrating a "Bird's Eye View."   

The gallery is in the heart of historic Saranac Lake, and features the work of award-winning area artists.