05/16/2026
Creating amazing artwork sometimes requires collaboration with another artist, and this week I had the pleasure of having Alex Gupton join me in the studio. I am currently creating a beautiful dining table for a client who has trusted me with amazing designs and creations for about 20 years or more. This wild figured Sapele has been in my possession for years and it finally found a home. The Sapele would be plenty beautiful all by itself, but my clients asked for an inlay in the table top. A octopus. A huge, wild octopus with movement. This is where the incredible talent of Alex Gupton comes in to play. A little paper and a pencil, and all of a sudden his brilliance is flowing. Whenever Alex and I get together it is never brief or quiet. He's my kind of people, people with depth, who speak with emotion from a twisted mind. His hands move in fluid motion with swoops and curves, intertwining the octopus tentacles with the African Mahogany border already inlaid into the table so the creature appears to be climbing out of the table top. At one point while Alex was in the groove, I got quiet. Me, quiet. It's a frightening experience for those who know me, and it caught Alex by surprise and he stopped to look at me. I stared at the table while he stared a me until I broke the silence with the question of how the hell am I going to create this inlay? Alex smirked sarcastically as if to suggest that I tighten up my seat belt because he's about to give it a lot more gas. He then started to add detail in the skin of the animal and it added depth as well as defined lines where I can cut and join each piece of wood. I think I will have to create layers of inlays, lpts of layers, working from the background to the foreground. Changing grain patterns to added depth. I'll be searching my wood piles for the right pieces for the body, the eye, the siphon, the suckers...all the suckers! Alex continued without looking up again. He had his mojo flowing and it is a thrill to watch him work, until suddenly and somewhat abruptly, he stopped. Alex had finished the drawing, called me a nic-name that I truly despise, laughed at my discomfort, gave me a bro hug, and strolled out of my studio without a care in the world. Ahhhh, collaboration!
