You might call Tim Passmore a philosopher/mathematician/woodworker. At his craft for several decades, as early retirement approached in 2014, he attended a woodturning class at North Carolina’s John C. Campbell Folk School, “and there I developed my appreciation of melding function and form,” he said. “I was always fascinated by people with the ability to turn a block of wood into a bowl or other vessel.”
He then purchased the book “The Art of Turned Bowls” by world-class turner Richard Raffan and, for the last few years, he has focused on integrating form and function into all of his pieces.
Tim incorporates other media to enhance his turnings, created from Indiana hardwoods. His focus is bowls with faux metal inlay and bowls resembling woven baskets. And this is where his philosopher/mathematician side plays in. “I have worked diligently on using the Golden Mean and the Fibonacci Sequence so my work has proper proportion,” he said. “My goal is to create pieces with a utilitarian function as well as a pleasing form.”
Fibonacci was considered the greatest Italian mathematician of the Middle Ages. His Fibonacci Sequence is a series of numbers where each is the sum of the two preceding it, starting with 0 and 1. It appears in the spiral growth of plants, the arrangement of leaves and the proportions of the human body.
The former middle school administrator and avid golfer says, “I’m confident my Basket Illusion and faux metal inlay work is not being replicated by many woodturners in Indiana,” and that’s what makes him an Indiana Artisan.
A testament to the quality of his work: the editor of “Popular Woodworking” magazine requested one of his pieces and was so impressed by the quality and uniqueness that Tim was featured in the magazine’s “Woodsmith Shop” podcast.
Many of Tim’s Basket Illusion pieces are inspired by designs found in Native American woven baskets from centuries ago. “Other times, I create an original design and pattern, staying true to the woven basket look; or I use patterns that have been around for centuries, such as the Greek Key,” he said.
The reason you want to see Tim’s pieces is because, as this philosopher/mathematician/woodturner says, “My work speaks to the person with great appreciation for handcrafted art. Each is a carefully designed and created, unique piece, and patrons tell me how much they appreciate the effort and attention to detail.”