Joe Cooper: Cabinet Maker and Artist (28:13 runtime)
CNL2 VIDEO AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE
Joe Cooper of Cooper Design has been in woodworking as a profession, including cabinet work, for 40 years. He is also an accomplished artist whose works mostly are in the medium of wood.
Joe’s art ranges from a huge bench, to wall art, to small sculptures. He wonders if he might have a touch of ADHD because once he completes a work he immediately wants to do something different. But he also has multiple projects going at the same time, some sitting in a corner waiting for his next move.
His woodwork comes from two different parts of his brain. Cabinet-making is a matter of design and precision. Art requires nonconformity, intuition, and surprise. He seems to enjoy toggling between both sides of the noggin’.
A native of Connecticut, Joe was living and working in New York City into the 1980s, when he realized he needed to make a choice. “It was time to make a stand there or get out.” He decided to get out. So he moved from New York City to a smaller metropolis: Friday Harbor. His brother had been living here in a rented cabin, off the grid.
Joe told CNL2, “For sure, my people were here. I started meeting my people at the age of 30 when I got here. In a way, I had never met my tribe, and they were here. I don’t know why and how. It was a huge pull.” He added, “No regrets at all.”
It was on San Juan Island that he met Paula West, the SJI artist specializing in soda ash-fired pottery. They married and raised two sons here.
Paula was also a transplanted Connecticuter.
Joe says the San Juan Island Studio Tour is very gratifying. He enjoys seeing friends and familiar faces. He guesses 60 to 70 percent of the Studio Tour patrons are locals. But he said they are not there to socialize. He said their questions tend to be specific to the art.
Cooper and West’s studio is #20 on the tour. They are two of the 66 artists and 23 studios on this year’s tour, June 1 and 2.
To view Paula’s March 12, 2024 interview on CNL2, click here.
This CNL2 is approximately 28 minutes in duration.
