Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Something fishy going on

A Chassahowitzka carpenter blends his love of wood, art and nature into a satisfying pursuit.

By JORGE SANCHEZ
Published August 7, 2006

	[Times photos: M. N. Golden]
	Kerry Clark of Chassahowitzka shaves down a piece of wood Thursday outside his workshop, near one of his finished chairs that look like a fish. The carpenter, who is also an artist, works out of his home to create these chairs from exotic woods. Some models sell for about $250; others, $750.

CHASSAHOWITZKA - For Kerry Clark, building furniture has also become an experiment in living well.

Residing in a historic house with a workshop in which he can fulfill his artistic quest, Clark seems to have connected with his purpose in life: to be an artist and a person who is aware of what he can do to improve the ecology of the planet.

He builds chairs shaped like fish. They are not only chairs but also pieces of fine art. Their graceful curves and strikingly rich hues capture the elements of art.

Clark's fish furniture, Adirondack chairs built with a master carpenter's artistic sensitivities and made from exotic hardwoods, are displayed on his front lawn just outside his workshop. Anyone driving past his corner on Miss Maggie Drive will surely stop to admire the finely finished chairs.

"I'm looking for a gallery to put a few pieces in," Clark said.

To get to work, he has to but cross his front yard to the workshop. To paraphrase Thoreau, it is where he lives and what he lives for.

An unapologetic dropout from the conventional working society, Clark appreciates his niche in the world.

"I don't have to drive to get to work. Really, I don't have to drive much at all," he said. "There's global warming, and I don't have to contribute to that to earn my living."

Clark and his wife, Melissa, both in their early 40s, came to Chassahowitzka about four years ago. He worked for a yacht manufacturer in Clearwater, and she is a teacher. They decided to commute to their Clearwater jobs the first year.

"I didn't make it even six months," he said. "She did, but not me."

A satisfied grin conveys the feeling that the decision was one that brought him solace.

Standing in his front yard beneath the canopy of a large oak, Clark faces the Chassahowitzka River, as if he could see farther west, toward the open waters of the gulf.

"I tell you, I like to get in my boat and go that way," he said, gesturing westward.

"I don't really like to go back the other way."

The "other way" is inland toward civilization. Toward the strip malls, huge housing developments, acres of clear-cut, old-growth cypress forests and people trapped in their offices.

But Clark does have one worry on his mind: time.

He's building up a clientele for the chairs, and business is good. He also earns a paycheck by building custom kitchen cabinets and other home furnishings such as a corner curio cabinet.

"It's hard to turn down that money," he said. "But it doesn't leave me as much time as I'd like for the chairs."

The chair building notion hit him during a Sanibel vacation. He saw a fish chair and decided to build a better one.

His chairs are of woods that most people have never seen, such as Australian lacewood, also called Australian silky oak. It is simply gorgeous, with an impressive fleck grain pattern, which resembles a piece of lace. The lacewood slats are alternated with a blond pine wood for a great contrast.

They have a gentle curve in the mid back for lumbar support for the back, and the bottom is curved slightly for a soft landing. The ottoman is the fish tail and is sanded to a close fit so that it simply slides snugly against the rest of the chair. The headboard is the fish head, complete with eyes.

"These are chairs that will be in a family for many generations," Clark said.

While the chairs are not cheap, neither are they outrageously expensive. The models with less exotic hardwoods sell for about $250, while the lacewood chairs, which are signed and numbered limited editions, cost about $750.

"But let me tell you, I can put one of these in the back of the truck, drive into Crystal River," Clark said, "and usually before I get into town, someone will have stopped me and want to buy one."

The Chassahowitzka Chair Co. is at 8560 W Miss Maggie Drive.

Jorge Sanchez covers arts and entertainment in Citrus County. He can be reached at sanchez@sptimes.com or 860-7313.

[Last modified August 6, 2006, 20:58:05]