Seanie Barron - Hand-carved walking sticks

Seanie Barron has a show of hand-carved walking sticks running at No Place Gallery in Columbus, which opened on October 16. Barron is an Irish artist who's been carving and shaping wood for decades in a workshop at the back of his house in Askeaton, working with simple hand tools and an intuitive approach drawn from nature.

His process starts out in the countryside, where he roams around looking for the right branch or bush. From there, he lets the walking stick emerge organically from the wood, and it often settles into surreal forms: seahorses, dancers, Hollywood films, the World Cup trophy, Greek myth, and wasps. The sticks are functional, but they're also these strange, imaginative figures that just happen to be walking sticks.

Since his first exhibition a decade ago in Askeaton, his work has been shown in galleries and museums in London, Chicago, Dublin, Paris, and Helsinki. He also frequently tours around Ireland sharing stories about his art and his life. On Inisbofin island, he once told an audience that there are two things that can kill you in this life: the electric chair and the armchair.

The exhibition is at No Place Gallery in Columbus, and it's been open since October 16.