What inspires David Picciuto

David Picciuto (AKA: The Drunken Woodworker) first drew my attention by combining exotic woods with lowly plywood to create stunning bandsaw boxes. Contrast is a bold way to create interest in art and highlighting exposed plywood edges challenges woodworking "rules".
 David sells his pieces at art fairs and online and makes his living as a web developer in Toledo, Ohio. Visit Davids web site at DrunkenWoodworker.com.*****
Envy. Envy is a huge inspiration for me. Or does it motivate me? I often get inspiration and motivation confused. Anyway, what gets the synapses firing in my right brain is looking at other people’s art. I get envious because it’s so good, because it’s so creative. It might sound odd but it works and gets my creative juices boiling.
My inspiration doesnt usually come from other woodworkers. It comes from artists in other media. I’m a total sucker for documentaries, especially art movies. The idea for my last bandsaw box came while watching a doc on Nextflix called Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters. It had nothing to do with woodworking. Gregory Crewdson is a photographer who has a unique style and that triggered something in my brain. When it comes to woodworking, I try to be unique and do things not normally done in the craft. When someone sees one of my boxes I want them to associate that with my name. I want to make something distinct and have a style that is recognizable. I’m not sure I’m at a point where I have my own “style”, but I’m working hard to get there.

Regaining creativityIve heard many times that you’re either born a creative person or you’re not. Bullshit. As kids we all drew, painted and built things with blocks and Legos. At some point that stopped. You can get that back. If you force yourself for five minutes every day to sketch out a woodworking idea on paper, you’ll notice after a couple of weeks the ideas come more quickly. The sketches will get more detailed and because you’re forced, you’ll constantly look for inspiration throughout the day. Inspiration could come from architecture, a reflection in a window or something you saw on Pinterest.
Sometimes one thing I do inspires another. If I post a finished project online and get a positive response, I can’t wait to get back in the shop and start the next project. My inspiration feeds off of other people’s responses. My inspiration comes from many of the people reading this blog and sometimes inspiration comes from a tall glass of craft brew. Just make sure you’re not drinking that brew while behind the wheel of a table saw.

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