Ron Fleming

Example of Fleming's featured foliage motifs. Redwood burl wood, lathe turned, hand carved, 2011, Height 11 inches Diameter 17 inches

Ron Fleming (20 September 1937 – 6 December 2021) also known as Ronald Franklin Fleming was an American woodturning artist whose pieces featured foliage motifs. His works are in the permanent collections of American museums such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum,[1] Renwick Gallery[2] and the White House Permanent Collection of American Craft.[3]

Early career

Before woodturning, Fleming was an Art director in the Commercial art business. Over the years he received more than a dozen industry awards[4] from the American Advertising Federation Tulsa (Tulsa Ad Club). He specialized in Airbrush,[5] Graphic arts, and Technical illustration[6][7]

Hearthstone Studios

1939 Tulsa Oklahoma Incinerator repurposed into Hearthstone Studios
Hearthstone Studios Entrance into Atrium

Fleming converted the Tulsa Incinerator built in 1939 (Declared a Historical Landmark and on the National Registry) into a home, art studio, and gallery "Hearthstone Studios".[8] One of the inferno hatches was left in place to honor the National Registry and Historical Land mark. Major public and private tours have been provided by The City of Tulsa or many other organizations[9]

Career

Fleming began selling his woodturning work in 1986, gaining the attention of art collectors and devoted increasing time to his work. A Founding Member of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW) with more than 365 chapters worldwide and was also a Founding Member and Trustee of The Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[10] he was an active participant in the history and growth of both. His earlier experience in graphic design was reflected in his wood turned and carved vessels. Fleming's works have been translated into the media of sculptural crystal[11] and bronze castings. He collaborated with other artist in his field to create artworks that combined both artists techniques. Artist like Bob Hawks,[12] Ron Kent, Linda Stilley,[13] Guy Timmons & Stan Townsend, and many others. The article "Attractive Opposites" written by Stephen Henkin Art Editor, World & I Magazine a publication, compares strengths and similarities of Ron Fleming and Binh Pho whom both had served AAW.

Permanent collections

White House Red Room Washington D.C. New Beginnings by Ron Fleming

Smithsonian American Art Museum[14] (Washington, D. C.), Oklahoma State Capitol Collection (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (Little Rock, Arkansas), California Palace of the Legion of Honor (San Francisco, California), The American Mission of the United States[15] (State Department Geneva, Switzerland), Kirkpatrick Center Museum Complex (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), The Center for Art in Wood[16] (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Mint Museum of Craft + Design[17] (Charlotte, North Carolina), Los Angeles County Museum of Art,[18] (Los Angeles, California), Philbrook Museum of Art (Tulsa, Oklahoma), Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (San Francisco, California), Honolulu Museum of Art (Honolulu, Hawaii), Detroit Institute of Arts[19] (Detroit, Michigan), Long Beach Museum of Art (Long Beach, California), University of Michigan Museum of Art[20][21][22] (Ann Arbor, Michigan), Cincinnati Art Museum[23] (Cincinnati, Ohio), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston, Massachusetts), Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House formally Contemporary Museum,[24] Honolulu (Honolulu, Hawaii), Minneapolis Institute of Art[25] (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Yale University Art Gallery[26] (New Haven Connecticut), Neutrogena Corporation (Los Angeles, California), States Art Council (Tulsa Oklahoma),[27] and the White House Collection of American Craft, permanent displayed in the Red Room (White House) (Washington, D.C.).

References

  1. ^ "Ron Fleming | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  2. ^ "A Revolution in Wood: The Bresler Collection | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  3. ^ Yoder, Tim. "Ron Fleming, Tulsa, OK". The American Association of Woodturners. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Tulsa Advertising History Highlighted at ADDYs – GTR Newspapers". Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  5. ^ Johnson, Don (November–December 1987). "Home". Air Brush Action The Magazine. p. 50. Retrieved 2022-12-17. 1st place Photo Retouching.","2nd Place technical Illustration.
  6. ^ Yoder, Tim (2 April 2019). "Ron Fleming: Legendary Woodturner". Woodturning Workshop. Woodturning with Time Yoder.
  7. ^ Johnson, Don (May–June 1988). "Home". Air Brush Action The Magazine. p. 24. Retrieved 2022-12-17. First Place Technical Illustration.
  8. ^ World, Michael Overall Tulsa. "Trash to treasure: A most unorthodox house sits near Mohawk Park". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  9. ^ "Architectural Insider: Artist Ron Fleming's Incinerator Home - Tulsa Foundation for Architecture". tulsaarchitecture.org. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  10. ^ Fry, David (June 2017). "American Woodturner June 2017 Page 50-55 and cover". www.qgdigitalpublishing.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  11. ^ Wallace, Kevin. "Issue 72 (Mar 2008)". Craft Arts Magazine. pp. 70–76. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  12. ^ Turning 100: Bob Hawks-Woodturner, retrieved 2022-10-15
  13. ^ "Ron Fleming Retrospective". The Center for Art in Wood. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  14. ^ "Ron Fleming | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  15. ^ Monroe, Michael (1999). Living with form : the Horn collection of contemporary crafts. Internet Archive. South Korea: Little Rock, Ark. : Arkansas Arts Center, in association with Bradley Pub. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-940716-06-3. American Mission of the United States, Geneva, Switzerland.
  16. ^ "Advanced Search Results | Center for Art in Wood". woodturning.pastperfectonline.com. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  17. ^ Monro, Michael. "Turning Wood into Art: Masterworks from the Jane and Arthur Mason Collection, Hardback". Mint Museum Store. pp. 38–40, 70. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  18. ^ "Ron Fleming | LACMA Collections". collections.lacma.org. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  19. ^ Fike, Bonita. "The fine art of wood : the Bohlen collection ; Bonita Fike with Mike Medndelson". search-library.ucsd.edu. pp. 52–53 129. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  20. ^ "Exchange: Hidden Garden (or Suspended Redwood Flora)". exchange.umma.umich.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  21. ^ Wincapaw, Jeff (October 3, 2004). "Nature Transformed:wood art from the Bohlen Collection". search-library.ucsd.edu. pp. 116, 117, 118. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  22. ^ "ronald fleming | 1-1 | Search Results | University of Michigan Museum of Art | University of Michigan Library Digital Collections". quod.lib.umich.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  23. ^ "Cincinnati Art Museum: What's New: Fashion and Contemporary Craft at the Cincinnati Art Museum". Cincinnati Art Museum. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  24. ^ Wallace, Kevin (2011). "The Cutting Edge: Contemporary Wood Art and the Lipton Collection - Softcover Edition". BeaOjai. p. Cover 35 53 85 92 134–135 138 149–150 199 200 202–203. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  25. ^ "Metamorphosis, Ronald Fleming ^ Minneapolis Institute of Art". collections.artsmia.org. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  26. ^ "Search | Yale University Art Gallery". artgallery.yale.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  27. ^ Turner, Tran (1999). Living with form : the Horn collection of contemporary crafts. Internet Archive. Little Rock, Ark. : Arkansas Arts Center, in association with Bradley Pub. p. 28 76–79. ISBN 978-0-940716-06-3. Neutrogena Corporation Los Angeles." "State Arts Council Tulsa Oklahoma.