This Artist's Wooden Sculptures Form A Cast Of Intriguing Characters

Splitting his time between Bali, Japan and his native Orcas Island, artist Aleph Geddis thrives on getting inspiration from his travels. His hand-carved wooden sculptures range from handheld figures to more monumental totem-like forms, but they all toe the line between the recognizable and abstract. “With my new work, I imagine the pieces as grounding and centering you before they transport you out to the unknown,” says Geddis, who has lately been carving what he describes as “spacey characters” with protruding leg- and antennae-like forms. Learning carving from his dad, a boatbuilder and sculptor, today Geddis works exclusively with hand tools. “You can see a lot of texture in my work, which tells the story of the hand,” he says. “It’s slow but more meditative.” As Geddis prepares to release his latest body of work through his online gallery this summer, he dreams of experimenting with other materials like brass, bronze and clay. “With wood, the process is very thought out and planned,” the artist says. “Clay is the opposite—it’s spontaneous.”