VERMONT WOODWORKER & ARTISAN
AMY ESCOTT
“As artists, we have so many options when it comes to the materials we choose to work with. For me, it’s the other way around. The wood chooses me.”
There’s an infinite warmth and beauty to wood. Long after a tree has been felled, its wood continues to live. It moves, expands, contracts. Weather, air, temperature, and time all continue to affect it. I love each unique grain and imperfections. To the untrained eye it looks ordinary – my goal is to bring out the rich, vibrant character of every unique piece.
From neuroscience and a law practice to working with wood.
“Each piece says something new. I have to ask myself “What is going to work with this? What happens if I glue it? What do I do with a material like this, one that moves and needs room?” It’s exactly the kind of creative problem-solving I love to do. It gives my life balance, meaning, grounding.”
Though I went to Princeton to study neuroscience, I graduated with a deep new love for art and sculpture. I moved from New Jersey to Seattle and back east again, collecting knowledge and skill as an artisan. A move to Vermont prompted me to dive into legal studies but, even as I honed my skills as a real estate lawyer and sat for the bar, my love affair with wood continued.
My dad is an avid chess player and, when I was small, taught me how to play on a hand-carved set he’d brought back from a combat tour in Vietnam. He’s not a let-the-kid-win kind of guy, so I lost… a lot! I had to earn his respect in everything, chess included—so when I went off to college, dad expected me to become some sort of scientist, or doctor. Not a woodworker.
To earn his respect, I started making him things. And since he’s an artsy guy who also loves Arts & Crafts furniture, I tried my hand at a quarter-sawn white oak cabinet.
Nervous, I handed it to him, hoping he’d love it.
“You’re doing what you should be doing Amy.” Exactly the validation I needed!
Several years later, I decided to make him a chess board out of oak and walnut for Christmas. Another hit!
My focus then turned to my law practice for a while but, feeling the isolation and emptiness of the pandemic, I set up a lathe in my basement and set to work on matching chess pieces. I hadn't used a lathe before so there was some trial and error.
It took me months to finish those pieces, but I had the time, was pleased with the results, and it inspired me to do more lathework. I'm now trying my hand at bowls!
I’ve beaten my dad at chess exactly once. It was as much of a triumph as gaining his acceptance for my woodworking, and I didn't play with him for a while after that. I needed time to bask in my victory! He’s now teaching his granddaughters—though he won’t let them win either! It’s so cool to know this board will be passed down to future generations along with the love of the game.