Welcome to Bent Grain Designs.  I’m Ted, and I’ve been drawn to nature’s beauty, complexity, and simplicity since childhood.  I grew up in the Nevada desert, scavenging for and delighting in fossils, cool rocks, and reptiles.  On a lucky day, my brother and I would happen upon an abandoned, dilapidated building.  My imagination would jump to images of what this structure was like in its prime, and what had come to pass in the meantime. Another hobby was just making stuff out of stuff – forts from found materials, sneaking my dad’s tools when he was at work, making toy boats to float on our various small lake creations, bows and arrows, sling shots, spears – some of my fondest childhood memories.  Fast forward to my early 20s, I learned the craft of rustic woodworking through my AmeriCorps and National Park Service experience. This was when my passion for working with raw timber and hand-hewn lumber ignited. Part of our job was to restore and recreate wooden bridges and other trail structures to preserve historical integrity and the ingenuity of the original Civilian Conservation Corps creators, using only the tools and supplies we could hike in with.
 
These days, I live on a few acres, just outside Olympia, WA, with my partner and our two children (who also happen to enjoy making bows, arrows, spears with found objects).  My art is crafted mostly from wood found on our property, and occasionally from special pieces that friends find and bring to me.
 
I love exploring new ways to combine natural elements.  Some examples you’ll see in my work - the relationship between fungus and its effects on wood through the decomposition process; breathtaking unique grain patterns; subtle traces of copper; use of mica powder and epoxy to create a color story that contrasts and highlights the grain patterns.
 
Please look around.  Feel free to ask questions.  I love creating beautiful things and would be honored if one of my pieces finds a spot in your home, business, or as a gift for a loved one.