MY NEIGHBOR'S TREE

I am Naomi Horn, a wood artist based in Gresham, OR. I have been woodworking for about 6 years honing my skills and creating a variety of pieces including dressers, tables, wooden bowls among other works.

One of my life’s dreams has been to create beauty. At the age of 16, my mother and I went to the furniture store to purchase a new dining room table, side tables, and other various living room furniture. I stood in awe of the mahogany tables, skillfully patterned tabletops, and lacquered finishes of the furniture. I thought to myself “I wish I could make furniture someday”, although it seemed entirely out of reach. No one in my family was a craftsman. My mom didn’t even own a power tool! Little did I know that the man I would marry years later had a family of hobbyists.

My husband encouraged me to start woodworking because it was something he had some experience in and found to be enjoyable. So, I started picking up tools at garage sales and inherited some hand-me-downs from the in-laws. My first “shop” was the back porch of an upstairs apartment in the small town of Lebanon, OR. It was about 12 feet long and 6 feet deep, only big enough for one bench! We moved to Corvallis, OR for my husband to finish college and the new landlord was gracious enough to offer up half of a two car garage for my shop. My first real work of art was a dresser made of scrap wood and alder bought from the local sawyer. It measured 6 feet in length and my landlord called it an “albatross”. Haha. I’ve since moved on to making smaller furniture and woodturning. Some pictures of my projects and the process involved are located under the gallery tab for your amusement.