I am a fine art woodworker––I craft one-of-a-kind furniture pieces, as well as design and build unique cabinetry and remodel houses. Since 1986, I have lived and worked on Vashon Island in Puget Sound.

My passion for working with wood was first ignited in woodshop class in the sixth grade. I continued woodworking in the 1970’s, and was invigorated by the process of getting to know different woods and how they behaved and could be used. I went on to more structured studies at Seattle Central Community College, where I studied at Gompers and graduated with a degree in cabinet making and house construction in 1975.

Since then I have been a self-employed woodworking artist as well as cabinet maker and contractor. As I explored the more creative and free-spirited flow of woodworking, I was inspired. I put renewed energy into designing and crafting tables and other fine furniture. I have built a large foundation of creative ideas; each client exchange provides something new to my growing tool belt of woodworking skills. Through more than 35 years of running a business and developing my personal style, I discovered the market for my unique, handcrafted art pieces.

 

Brad Davis translates the essence of wood through his hands, by allowing the wood to speak for itself. “The more proficient I got with knowing how to work with wood on an intuitive level, the more my imagination and creative way of looking at wood were inspired,” Davis says. Over the years, Davis has further explored woodworking art and honed his breathtaking skills. He finds the most success through stepping aside from preconceived visions of a given piece, following the natural beauty of the wood. “I surrender my sense of trying to do something and let the wood move me… more than me telling the wood to do something,” he adds. This trust and patience continue to develop through Davis’ deep love for wood. He uses his passion and appreciation to guide the ways in which he will portray it. Davis explains that he “reads the wood and lets it tell me how it needs to come together. It’s interplay of the wood and me.”

Davis does come up against challenges in his artistic process and humble interaction with the wood. However, he practices attention and listening to the wood. “The more I can shed my controlled life to the uninhibited life, I am able to get more creative… When you have this opportunity, the barriers and the walls of confinement fall down and things flow differently. It becomes a whole new experience.”

Clients often remark that they feel inspired when looking at and sharing a space with one of his pieces. He expresses his desire “to make pieces that have a sense of drawing people into them, whether it’s one person being drawn into the woodwork or it’s two people being drawn together over a table to interact.” This, Davis emphasizes, is the most valuable reaction he can receive. “I love seeing clients feel moved by the images that the wood is portraying.”