Statement

Douglas J Fisher has been an ironworker (working as high as 600 ft. in the air), and an underground gold miner (working as low as 3,800 ft. below the surface). He has delivered sailboats around the Pacific Northwest, the Caribbean and across the Atlantic Ocean. Stage acting has been a passion of his and he usually can be found performing in several plays a year.

In the mid 1980's while taking a self interest course, Canadian photographer Freeman Patterson, instilled in Douglas to see extra-ordinary things in the ordinary.

He began his art career in the early 1990's selling miniature acrylic paintings on the street. Art shows followed where he expanded his inventory to include small wood boxes, stained glass pieces, photography and pen and ink drawings.

In 1997 Douglas decided to jump full time into woodturning and a chance meeting in 1998 with well known native artist Harris Smith changed the course of his career and the two of them collaborated on many hundreds of turned pieces. "Harris was an exceptional mentor and friend. I will always be grateful for all that he taught me". This led to developing his own unique style and meshing of native imagery with traditional woodturning methods in much of his own work.

Through the development of exclusive techniques and a distinctive approach in his use of wood as a contemporary medium, Douglas' work reflects his love for indigenous art: its simplicity and its power.

Exhibitions

In 2006, Douglas was selected to be one of six international woodturners for "Woodturning: The Fine Art of Woodturning" exhibition at The Coral Springs Museum of Art in Coral Springs, Florida. Curator Robert Bagley wrote, "I would very much like to show your work with a few of the other top woodturning artists in the world."

In 2008, Douglas was selected for the exhibition "Woodturning - Over the Edge" at the University of Idaho's Prichard Gallery.
He was also selected for "Petits et Precieux Objets en Bois"(Small & Precious Wooden Objects at CFC/Messler Gallery in
Rockport, Maine, Nov-Dec, 2008).