Sculptural Chair

Maine based master stone carver and wood crafter, Ethan Stebbins explores the possibilities of the two mediums through the traditional sculpture techniques of subtraction with minimalist Japanese joinery to create organic forms that emphasize the material's inherent beauty.

Through their elegant simplicity, Stebbins’ sculptural pieces embody the master craftsmens painstaking work as well as his humility before the natural materials. Stebbins’ work is deeply informed by the ethos of traditional Japanese craftsmanship and by those of Japanese American furniture maker George Nakashima – “The purpose is usefulness with a lyric quality”.

Stebbins discovered his passion while training as a stonemason in 1997. He then pursued apprenticeships under master gardener Masahiko Seko and American master craftsman Chris Tanguay, honing his stonework.

Inspired by the natural landscape and surroundings of his studio in coastal Maine, Stebbins carefully selects tumbled stones from the rocky coast to hand-cut and chisel while emphasizing their natural surfaces. His work draws inspiration from the Japanese culture of appreciation and humility, as well as the Wabi-Sabi philosophy, with instinctual techniques that embrace the natural edge and textures of the material; the simple forms of his designs place the unworked, raw material at the center.

“My work mainly relies on paying close attention to the organic matter’s properties. One must appreciate the individual characteristics of a certain wood kind or a certain type of stone before shaping them and joining the two together. […] There is a rather special moment when you carve, a quiet, flashing moment when the natural character of the stone reveals itself. This moment is everything.” - Ethan Stebbins

In addition to his stonework and furniture design, Stebbins is a poet whose work has been widely published.