An Interview with Michael Doerr

Michael Doerr
Artist Statement

I am a solo studio artisan designing and building handmade wooden furniture. Using mostly Northern hardwoods, I produce a variety of unique designs. All of my pieces may fulfill residential or commercial needs.

There are a number of special characteristics that are trademarks of my work. One is the importance of selecting individual pieces of wood to enhance the overall design. Another integral feature is the flow of an unbroken line that continues throughout the majority of my designs, creating a cohesive and unified quality to the overall outline.

This one-dimensional aspect, as seen in the profile, may be percieved almost as one looks at a pencil sketch. The line is very crisp and distinct.

This approach to design is difficult to employ when working in a media like wood. Upon completion, the pieces are signed and numbered with the year of creation and then hand-rubbed with an oil finish, applied over the entire surface.

Since the founding of Doerr Woodworking in 1989, I have developed a national and international clientele. During the 1999 Philadelphia Furniture Show, furniture historian Oscar Fitzgerald saw my work and included it in the Parson School of Design/Smithsonian Institute lecture series, on Contemporary American Crafts.

In January of 2001, Woodshop News Magazine featured my furniture in their cover story, "Following the show circuit, Wisconsin furniture sculptor takes a national sales approach", discussing the pursuit of a broader customer base by exhibiting at national shows. The winter of 2000-2001 also saw the publication of a feature article in Door County Magazine entitled, "Making Furniture One Piece at a Time".

Working on a theory of design integrity and craftsmanship, I have been inspired by men like master shipwright Fred Nimphius who once said to me, "It is not what you accomplish in a day, it is what you have learned."

Phone number: 920.743.5631
E-mail: Michael@MichaelDoerr.com