Winter 2025

134 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 5 “Keys #20” one of a series of piano key-themed pieces which is a signature theme. The artist is entirely self-taught, and he developed the process of creating these fascinating sculptures over decades of trial and error. Cola, Lauterbach’s precise methods are closely guarded secrets. “I was asked to do a symposium in Chicago for several hundred woodworkers,” he recalls.“I was asked to demonstrate exactly what I do. But when you’ve spent 30 years figuring out how to do something, you don’t exactly want to tell the world about it. One guy said, ‘I’m going to go home and copy you.’ I wished him luck,” he says. The artist isn’t at all arrogant about his work—he’s a kindhearted and friendly soul—but after all, it’s understand- able that after putting so much work into his techniques, he’s definitely earned the right to keep them under his vest. Lauterbach’s work is available at the Carmel Art Association on Dolores between Fifth and Sixth in Carmel. For more information, visit www.craiglauter- bach.com or www.carmelart.org/artist/craig-lauterbach.