A lot of what I do is to cooperate with chaos. It usually happens during the first hour of my working day when I am in the forest foraging or trail making, wandering, and meditating that I come upon them, the bent or wiggley tree forms which are loaded with suggestion. It's the conception of each new piece.
In the studio the empty spaces of arms, legs, heads, or seats slowly and carefully become filled in with my interpretation and process. I love the carving, shaping, and constructing processes each piece requires as it develops and unfolds. History, allegory, metaphor, function and color are my allies on this creative journey.

I enjoy making furniture and sculpture that you can dance with, that is participatory, playful, and suggestive. Function is often a chosen limitation. For me working with wood is a subtractive process, removing all that is unnecessary. It's like eating an artichoke, peeling the outer leaves to get to the heart.


A sculptor and furniture maker, Jon Brooks is known for the innovative quality and poetic imagery of his work, as well as for his exploration of the line between function and art. He has exhibited widely in the United States and abroad including the "Craft Today, USA" European Tour and, in 1997, "Celebrating American Craft" at the Danish Museum of Decorative Art, Copenhagen, Denmark. A graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology with B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees, Brooks has taught at Haystack, Penland, and the University of Tasmania. He has held artist residencies at Alfred University, Rhode Island School of Design, Philadelphia College of Art, and New Zealand's L'Etacq College.
Jon's work is included in important public collections including the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American Art, The Currier Gallery of Art, and the American Craft Museum. Brooks has received awards from the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen and, in 1996, was honored with a New Hampshire State Council on the Arts Fellowship.