Know Terry

Terry the Prophetic Artist

Artists as Prophets

The artist as prophet, per the Milan Art Institute, "Brings things from the unseen realm into the seen, creating from the Spirit what lives in the heavenly realm and rebirthing it into the earthly realm." Terry Alby is prophetic. His art 're-births' from unseen realms.

ALBY ART VALUES: Work Ethic, Creativity, Quality and FUN!

Wood Grain

Imaginative

Imaginatively, his Wood ART teases out unseen beauty from wood by highlighting or exploiting form and one or more of the wood’s natural elements – color, luster, texture, grain, figure and character.

Creative Photography by Terry Alby

Creative

Creatively, his Photo ART opens gates to emotional realms in well-composed shots by magnifying or understating one or more of light’s raw properties – brightness, contrast, tint, hue, saturation, shadow and luminosity.


"Every Man looks upon his woodpile with a sort of affection."
~ Henry David Thoreau

Not Every Man

Terry Alby is not every man. He looked at his firewood pile, observantly selected an un-split walnut log, attached it to his lathe, and uncovered a 15-inch wide by 20-inch high vessel. The craftsmanship required to do this is amazing, but the beauty re-birthed is miraculous. Former hidden layers retained the soul of the living tree. Knots, wood grain and now-exposed imperfections reveal nature’s hidden artistic flair.

Words fall short of doing the vessel justice. The Facebook community liked, loved and wow-ed over pictures of the vessel. Shared comments included the piece was "cool as heck"... "killer work"... "pretty"... "beautiful!"... "amazing!"... and multiple combinations of these words.

The vessel is killer / cool / beautiful / wow. But, its wonder is so much more than how nice it looks. There is a tactile magic to the work, almost as if a spirit inhabits the revealed wood. Vessel pictures compel you to caress the piece and invite powerful connections to the natural world. Heft or cradle the actual work (no small tasks for a vessel this big), and you may never want to let go.

Imaginatively and creatively, Terry’s Wood ART and Photo ART stir up feelings of wonder or ambiguity, exciting your soul by striking highly personal chords from your dreams and experiences.

Terry is passionate, engaging, imaginative and curious. But to really know Terry, wander this site and explore his work. Then visit nature (or other venues) with senses open, and discover beauty worthy of human attention. Perhaps use a camera to capture a small slice of beauty / reality / time.

What is Worthy?

It might be a family heirloom in need of a solid place to rest. Terry would welcome the chance to work with you to create a custom wood stand, shelf or display board.

It could be your favorite nature photograph. Terry would appreciate the opportunity to help you transform your photo into a work of art.

It could be a downed tree or tree branch with burls, in which you see potential for an afterlife. It could be a piece of wood with special meaning to a friend or family member, or a log saved from your firewood pile you would like transformed into a bowl or spindle. Terry would be pleased to help you re-birth beauty from wood for which you feel a particular (or natural) affinity.

Or it could be driftwood, old barn-boards, or beams, wainscoting, or decking from old structures – each with abstract artistic aspirations. Terry would love the chance to work with you to tease out the beauty of your found wood.

Next Steps

When you return from your discover-beauty visit, connect with Terry:
terry@albyart.com | 262-806-2086

At some point – if it makes sense and the logistics work – schedule time to meet Terry, tour his wood and photo art galleries, and experience his artistic approach.

Call Terry

Deep Connections

Terry is a passionate, engaging person of imagination and high curiosity. The former owner of a profitable construction materials manufacturing enterprise, his unerring eye found beauty and elegance in chains-of-command, job descriptions, performance records, safety manuals, balance sheets, technical specifications, maintenance systems, and his customers’ project successes.

Terry brought the same passion and curiosity to his interests outside of work, including woodworking and photography. Years of study and experimentation helped him master these crafts, and over these years, Terry developed deep connections to the beauty and elegance found in nature and a keen eye for form, lighting, composition, color, texture and warmth.

His transformation from business leader to contemporary visual artist is an ongoing journey, guided by intuition, instinct, impulse and experience. The journey is challenging, but is supported by the same five values buttressing his business success: Creativity, Work Ethic, Giving, Quality and Fun.

Unbounded by convention, Terry’s Wood ART and Photo ART creations evoke feelings of awe, respect, compassion, reverence, and uncertainty and rouse joy, memories, emotions and senses of the miraculous.