In his studio on Kodiak Island, Alaska, Robert Tucker, a.k.a. “Tuck,” transforms nature’s gifts into works of art. This self-taught artisan remembers working with wood since the age of twelve carving  and sculpting creatures he saw within the wood.  He ventured into carving in the round, chip carving, relief carving, and pyrography before receiving his first instruction in woodturning at a workshop from master wood turner Richard Raffan in 1995. From that time on Tuck has been “hooked” spending countless hours practicing and perfecting his skills.  He has continued to take seminars from master wood turners including Stuart Batty, Michael Peterson and David Ellsworth.  He has also been influenced by the work of Ron Fleming and Ray Keys. 

Today Tuck sometimes incorporates his loves of woodturning, carving, and sculpting into creations of carved woodturnings using indigenous Alaskan and exotic timbers.  Kodiak’s beaches and mountains are sources of fallen trees, stumps, burls, and driftwood, which he uses in his work. Native woods include Sitka spruce, cottonwood, and black birch.  Tuck’s design process in sculpting usually starts with studying a piece of wood, sometimes for years, and gradually the wood tells him something and they come to terms with each other.  He sketches the piece, often revising it numerous times, searching for just the right form that will show the beauty of the wood.  He enjoys highlighting particular features of the wood including defects, unusual figures, colors and textures.  He pushes the boundaries of what wood is supposed to look like and explores the limits of turning, carving and sculpting

in the process.

Tuck loves to see for the first time what nature has hidden.  He sees what nature has done to the tree over the years.  The struggle, the energy, and the time it took for nature to take its course and he delights in being able to show nature’s beauty to others.