The Firehouse Art Center invites you to Doug Felkley’s culminating exhibition. Felkley was selected as the 2025/6 Winter Artist in Residence for the Firehouse Artist Occupied Series. This program invites emerging and established artists working in all media to explore their practice while engaging with the community. The artist utilizes the Firehouse South Gallery as a working studio for three months before a culminating solo exhibition in the Main Gallery.

The title of this exhibit, “Seconds,” is a reference to many things. Second careers, second chances for found objects, second opportunities to teach, as well as the passage of time — second by second.

“Since starting down the path of creating wood based furniture and art I have been drawn to using repurposed and found objects in my work. Over time I have collected a number of found objects including driftwood, road signs, family heirloom glass floats from Japanese fishing nets, parts from an old loom, and even a bird’s wing. These items are the initial inspiration for the works in this exhibit, providing a starting point for each sculpture.” states Felkley.

Using bent wood lamination techniques, Felkley creates sculptures using multiple layers of thin material glued together. These layers are bent into the desired shape. Felkley then uses pressure, created by vacuum or through tape binding, to finish the shape. The more layers in each lamination, the stronger the piece will be.

“People are like that too, the more layers we have, the more empathy and compassion we have, the stronger we become. The bending process works because the layers are held tightly together while still allowing for a great deal of flexibility. Without that external support the wood would break, just like people without support can break under pressure.”

During his three month residency, Felkley worked with community members to create their own bent wood shapes. Felkley then fit the shapes with magnets creating an interactive piece where guests can move the pieces around, creating secondary installations from his inital design.