broken bowls
The Wood Art
of
Fred Anthony Rettig

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Fred Rettig resides in Mobile, Alabama, where he has run Rettig's Auto Body for the past 30 years. In that time he has remained active through surfing, flying gliders, catamaran sailing and other outdoor activities. In 2007, he attended a wooden boat show that inspired him to build a boat. The result is a 14' beauty that has won 1st place and Best of Show everywhere it has gone. This boat was his first time to work with wood.

In 2009 he decided to start making wooden bowls. He purchased a lathe and never looked back. When asked what is it that inspires him to do what may seem tame in comparison to his past hobbies, his answer reveals why his pieces are so unique and moving. "I study the wood. As I begin to turn it, I find the beauty hidden beneath and allow it to form and shape into something that almost begs to be released. Each piece has its own life and I give it the opportunity to live."

You may ask why they are called "broken bowls". Simply put, the majority of wood Fred uses is dried with knots, or burled. Often when this wood is turned there are numerous holes in it. He loves the result because it reminds him of how each of us have broken places in our lives, but in the right hands, those places can become beauty marks of brokenness, creating a one-of-a-kind work of art. The use of turquoise and other stones as inlay is used to enhance the wood's beauty.