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Swedish wood artist Daniel Wester creates inspiring, eye-catching objects with one distinctive feature: he uses mostly fresh wood. The organic forms are familiar and at the same time unfamiliar. The pieces in his collection full of turned and carved objects have proportions that are not really right, that are rough and not polished, which makes his collection unique. He uses his woodcarving as therapy, creating outstanding wooden sculptures with a fragile sensibility.
The wood artist's design process is slow.
The wood artist's design process is slow. ‘It takes time for the tree to grow. And it takes me time to carve the pieces and shapes I want,’ he explains. It starts with an idea of a shape that he has picked up somewhere. This can be from a memory or a feeling. From himself as a five-year-old boy or from an angry man he met earlier that day, Daniel Wester gives as an example. All these impulses that travel through our body, we feel without thinking about it, which connects us to ourselves and our true nature. 
After this, he has to translate his chosen form into wood, for example into a bowl, sculpture or spoon that his little daughter can eat with. According to the Swedish designer, woodcarving is about being fully present with yourself and being in the moment. ‘When you're not, you start carving yourself. While this may sound pretentious, it can also be something very good,’ he tells us. As a final step, he repetitively and almost meditatively transforms the piece of wood into something new.
Besides woodworking, another great passion of his is photography. Thus, at the age of 21, Daniel Wester got his first job with the Red Cross, documenting projects for Save the Children worldwide. Thanks to later photography work in advertising, fashion and design, his name quickly became known. He still enjoys doing his commercial work as a photographer but for the past seven years his other passion of woodworking has been added. 
Want to know more about Daniel Wester? Read the full article in Imagicasa Design 2021.
Images are courtesy of Daniel Wester