Marco Bellini

I'm Marco and I work with wood. I make tangible objects to conjure a remote time in which sacred and profane were not separate concepts.I use wood, fire, weather (sun/rain), oxides, soil, iron, water, ashes - all natural elements. I give my turned/sculpted object to them and let them change it in their own peculiar ways. The control I exert on the whole process is limited, and I adapt my skills to the results that naturally occurs within these interactions.

Q&A

Artist Statement

The pieces I make recall objects from our remote past. Through those objects I strive to evoke feelings: I make cult objects to create a sense of sacred, I give form to idols to inspire ancestral awe, I carve urns and vessels to free our mourning for what we’ve lost.I make tangible objects to conjure a remote time in which sacred and profane were not separate concepts, when a house could also be a temple, baking bread could be a ritual.I believe this is important today, when people suffer for this separation between science and spirituality, not knowing where to ﬁnd their balance. I hope my works help people realizing the wondrous and inexplicable world that is around us, embracing the fact that the incompleteness of our knowledge has a meaning in itself.

What craft do you work with?

I started helping my grandfather restoring old furniture when I was a teenager.I’ve been working with wood full time since 2016.Wood turning and wood carving are my main “tools” for shaping wood.

What inspires you to work with this craft?

I love ancient, paleolithic and neolithic art. There was wood at that time, but almost nothing survived the millennia. I like the idea of making contemporary objects, that can be “felt” the same way ancient humans felt about their own art – cave art, portable objects and body art as well.I use only wood now, but I’d like to explore stone and other materials when I have time.

How do you start your creative process?

I start reading books about ancient cultures. When an idea appears in my mind, I sketch it on my notebook. After weeks or months, when I feel intrigued by that idea (I usually have many on my sketchbook), I start looking for the right wood to realize it.Turning and carving, texturing, charring, oxidizing, etc are all enjoyable parts, but if I have to pick one, fire has a greater appeal to me.The hardest part is distilling what I read and feel about ancient cultures and design/create a contemporary object that somehow communicates the same feeling to me.

How would you best describe your workspace and what tools could you not do without?

A den, properly. I have no fancy atelier, but a quite small workshop that is crammed with wood, prototypes and machines. There’s a nice wood stove and laptop to listen to music.I cannot work without my lathe, the chainsaw, a couple of power carving tools, the torch I use to char wood. And music, of course, in my headphones.

Are there new techniques you would like to try?

Carving large objects like vases – the technique cannot be the same as when you carve small pieces. When it’s larger than 1 meter, everything changes.

What have you learnt or the best advice you have received that you would like to share with fellow crafters?

A piece of advice could be: stop watching people making the same stuff as you do. You’re a wood turner? Learn from glass blowers, blacksmiths and potters. Study painters and photographers. Read books.I’d like to collaborate with land artists and glass artists.Dreams? I’d love to apply to the Loewe crafts prize and be selected among the finalists. A short term dream, I’d hope.