'Kustom Laser Art by Oz' featured in May

Kirk Boxleitner | May 12, 20220

Courtesy photo count

Art by Allyn resident Michael Osborn.

Courtesy photo count

The Belfair Self-Storage art wall is devoting May to showcasing Allyn resident Michael Osborn's "Kustom Laser Art by Oz" lasear-cut wood artwork, complete with an artist reception featuring Osborn at 5 p.m. on May 20 at the business, 23270 NE state Route 3.

Osborn's roots as an artist are in Euless, Texas, with a job at Fegan Fine Art & Restoration to restore several truckloads of antiques from homes flooded by Hurricane Katrina.

Osborn discovered he enjoyed "working with my hands to restore precious items" after they'd spent days floating in flooded homes. He learned to combat mold and water-dissolved glue, skills he applied to restoring other antiques.

"Bill Fegan taught me so much about the enjoyment of restoration, and the ability to recreate antiques exactly as they were, that I found challenging and intriguing," Osborn said. "I opened my own business, restoring furniture, called 'Oz Restoration' in Fort Worth, Texas."

As a woodworker and craftsman, Osborn continued to enjoy working with his hands, but eventually found furniture repetitive.

"As a restoration technician, something new was always on the horizon," Osborn said. "That drove me to create the best I could. Early in my career, I ran CNC machines for cutting granite, and when I heard about lasers with similar operations skills, I thought it sounded like a new, intriguing challenge."

In 2019, Osborn was offered an opportunity to repair furniture in Seattle.

"At the time, my daughter and son-in-law were stationed at Bremerton, in the Navy, and were soon to have grandkids," Osborn said. "So, we made the move to Washington, but then, COVID hit, my job vanished, and I decided to retire and purchase a Glowforge laser."

When he became an Allyn resident, Osborn found himself driving quite often to Belfair, where he and his family do most of our shopping, and he couldn't help noticing the artists' names listed at Belfair Self-Storage.

"I thought, as soon as I master laser work, I want to create art and have my name there too," Osborn said, even as he insisted he has a hard time thinking of himself as an artist. "I never really thought of myself as special. Most of what I've created was what somebody else wanted me to restore, build or correct."

And now, Osborn can show and share what he can do with a laser.

"With the incredible degree of detail the laser enables, it affords virtually limitless possibilities to what I can create," Osborn said. "I've found Pacific Northwest art to be very detailed and distinctive, so I've homaged its stylistic hallmarks. I hope, when people see the intricate details of my art, it might remind them of how beautiful and unique the Pacific Northwest is."

It's been difficult finding places to show his art, he said, so he was grateful to secure just a temporary vendor spot at the White Barn market last summer.

"This is where I discovered the pleasure of seeing people seeing my artwork, and watching the smiles spread across their faces," said Osborn, who's included a selection of both older and newer artwork at Belfair Self-Storage in May. "We started by doing photos on live edge wood. We can take any photo, or any image, and put it on the live edge wood. My newer pieces are the result of all the hard work we put in over the winter, layering hardwoods to achieve artistic scenes and bowls."

Osborn is interested in taking part in more art shows, partly so he can "get out and enjoy the great atmosphere the Pacific Northwest offers."

While his years in Texas included plenty of art shows, Osborn has been struck by the more intimate market venues in his new home state, and expressed enthusiasm for the notion of connecting with fellow artists monthly, especially during the summer.

Osborn's site is http://www.kustomoz.com. His phone number is 360-968-9935.