Granville woodworker Jonathan Stratton featured at New Albany art gallery
Creating hand-crafted furniture is more than just a trade for woodworker Jonathan Stratton — it's an art form. And now he is showing off his masterpieces.
Stratton, who works from a converted garage on his family’s Granville property just north of Pataskala and York Road, will have his pieces displayed at New Albany's Hayley Gallery from noon-5 p.m. on Sunday, June 12.
It's his first solo exhibition and will feature tables, benches, chairs and wooden wall art designed and made by Stratton.
"It’s a huge honor to be amongst some, like, really talented artists and be considered as an artist because really that was my main goal is to be considered more an artist rather than just a builder," he said.
Stratton started his business, Stratton Furniture | Design, in summer 2021 and has spent the last year growing his business through vendor shows and creating pieces in his mid-century modern/Japanese style for local community members.
"By attending the shows, what I’ve found is that I’m kind of bringing something new to the area that nobody has ever really seen before and people are getting excited about it," he said.
Stratton said he views the pieces he creates as functional art.
"It’s more of, like, an intimate thing where you interact with it and you touch it and you feel it," he said. "Not only does it have to look good, but it has to serve a purpose too. If I’m building a bench, it has to hold somebody or ... if I’m building a shelf it has to hold books."
Part of his success, Stratton said, is that he offers unique, timeless furniture. And while he can reuse his patterns, no two pieces will ever be the same.
"It's more of an intimate forum where you're creating and you're crafting and you're designing something that can be passed down from generation to generation," he said. "It's more than just building a piece of furniture to me. It's a passion, you know, it runs deeper than that."
A self-taught carpenter, Stratton said he spent his nights and weekends learning the craft starting in 2018, and he still finds ways to challenge himself.
His next challenge is finding a storefront and shop space in Granville that would allow people to "experience nature and furniture," Stratton said.
"I’m a position now where we’re trying to grow and we’re trying to, you know, push this out to the community," he said. "I just feel very blessed and thankful."
Once he has an expanded shop space, Stratton said he wants to offer classes for teenagers and veterans.
"I feel like this is kind of dying trade, but just getting the younger community involved is very important because it really is like an art form," he said.
While Stratton does most of the work himself, he currently does have an assistant who helps with larger projects. When he does eventually move into a bigger space, Stratton said he hopes to bring a few carpenters under his wing to teach them the craft.
"I feel like I've been kind of blessed to kind of learn it by myself. But it is one of those things if you don't know how to do it, it has to be taught by somebody that's been taught by somebody," he said. "It's very hard to come in, just get into it and, and learn it by yourself."
mdevito@gannett.com
740-607-2175
Twitter: @MariaDeVito13
If You Go
What: Jonathan Stratton Solo Exhibition
When: Sunday, June 12 from noon-5 p.m.
Where: Hayley Gallery, located at 260 Market St. Suite B, New Albany, OH 43054
For more: https://www.strattoncustomfurniture.com/
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Granville woodworker Jonathan Stratton featured at New Albany gallery
