Winter 2025

Intricate Art With aTwist The Wood Fine Ar t of Craig Lauterbach B Y M I CHA E L CHAT F I E LD PHOTOGRA PHY B Y K E L L I U LDA L L C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 5 129 O ne day, thousands of years ago, one of our human ancestors discovered that the wooden branch of a tree could be shaped using a sharpened tool. Obviously, that precise date is lost to time, but what is known is that over the millennia, humans have used this extremely versatile material to craft a myriad of objects ranging from the rudimentary to the sublime. Wood artist Craig Lauterbach has taken the craft of woodworking to an entirely different and incredibly creative realm. The exquisitely and intricately designed and crafted pieces depicted on these pages represent the culmination of decades of experimenta- tion. “I’m completely self-taught, and have no art background,”