Russ Riddle Designs
Studio furniture
About
Copyright  2007  Russ Riddle Designs  All rights reserved.

    Russ grew up in Southern California where he developed an appreciation for nature and an
    interest in woodworking and art. College and subsequent career pressures (statistics, genetics,
    marketing/survey research) left only time for designing and constructing an occasional piece of
    furniture, but it did get him out of the city and closer to the natural world. Russ and his wife now
    live on beautiful Camano Island in Puget Sound, surrounded by ocean and many, many trees.

    In 2000 Russ rekindled his early interest in design and woodworking. He is entirely self-taught
    and feels this has allowed him to explore his own artistic vision. He began selling his work in
    galleries in 2005.

    Russ has shown/sold his work in the following venues:

      Seagrass Gallery on Camano Island,WA 2005-2008
      The Wood Merchant, La Conner, WA 2006-2008
      ArtWood Gallery ,Bellingham, WA 2006
      Bellevue Arts Museum ArtsFair, Bellevue, WA 2007
      Northwest Fine Woodworking , Seattle, 2008 - 2011
      Camano Arts Association Fall Show, Camano Island, WA 2007
      Stanwood Camano Arts Guild Spring Show, Stanwood, WA 2007
      Bellevue Arts Museum ArtsFair,, Bellevue, WA 2008
      Art at the Plant Farm, Arlington, WA 2008
      art matters @ Four Springs, Camano Island, 2008
      Brushes with the Land, Gallery by the Bay, Stanwood, WA 2008
      Trees Are Us, Solovei Art Gallery, Everett, WA 2008
      Parklane Gallery, Kirkland, WA 2008
      Stanwood-Camano Spring Arts Show, Stanwood, WA 2008, First Prize 3-Dimensional Art
         Harvest of Art Juried Show,  Stanwood, WA, 2009, People's Choice Award
         Harvest of Art Juried Show,  Stanwood, WA, 2010, People's Choice Award


       Press

         Everett Herald in March, 2006
         Stanwood Camano News in August, 2008
         Everett Herald in September, 2008
         Kirkland Reporter, Jan, 2009
         Northwest Fine Woodworking e-newsletter, April, 2010


    Russ describes the process of creating a piece of furniture as melding his design ideas with the
    patterns and beauty he discovers in the wood itself and with the best craftsmanship of which he is
    capable. His pieces are about the wood. He doesn't want the design to overpower the wood. "My
    desire is that each piece evokes some of the awe I feel for the beauty of nature," he says. He
    incorporates marquetry and inlay designs into many of  his pieces but tries to limit their extent so
    that they work to "coax the eye into discovering the beauty of the design and of the wood itself."
    He also feels that fine craftsmanship is very important -- not just for its own sake but mostly
    because he feels it is an integral part of bringing out the beauty of the design and the patterns
    and figures of the wood.