Writer Chris Cander  introduced us to Mark several months ago, and we got the opportunity to see some of his beautiful work. We couldn’t believe our luck. Such a talented fellow only 2 minutes away. Could he possibly be interested in a collaboration? The answer was a somewhat tentative “yes”. “Wonderful!” came Cecilia’s reply. “I have just the piece for you to get started on”.

She produced a piece of copper that had been treated with heat and chemicals and then painted in oils. Feeling it was not saying what she wanted, the artist had taken a hammer to it to give it some texture, but she was still not satisfied with it. Mark was the answer to her prayers. After explaining a little about what was behind the piece, we drove it down the road to Mark’s workshop for him to ponder over for a while. Our instructions “Just have fun with it’.

Prior to being given this challenge, Mark had not been involved in creating artworks (other than in the form of furniture of course), and so he was naturally somewhat tentative when it came to developing ideas of his own to incorporate into other artists’ work. “What if I mess it up?” “Not possible!” came the reply. A few more words of encouragement and a little discussion found  Mark  offering his own much more interesting plans for the work.

Still not keen to go too far without approval on his first piece, there were a number of visits between Fe29 and Rainbow Ranch to review after each step and plan for the next. There was little that e29 needed to offer. The result, absolutely stunning! Mark’s work was impeccable and his feeling for the piece perfect! Without pause, we asked “so are are you ready for the next one”.

We should say at this point that Mark has not looked back. His next piece was completed without the need for any assurances. He knew what he was doing was right. This was definitely a match made in Heaven! Mark was a preacher in his past life (pre-furniture), you know.

Mark is busy working on finishing a couple of new pieces for the Fe29 upcoming exhibition. So, watch this space for details…

Mark Love has his own well-established furniture making business (Mark Love Furniture) which is located on his property about 2 minutes from the Fe29 Art Lab in Wimberley.