We were lucky to catch up with David Boynton recently and have shared our conversation below.
David, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
One year ago, my Dad passed away. He was sick and had been in a home for a while and we knew his time was growing short, but ya never really see it coming do you? We got the dreaded call that if we wanted to see him one more time, we needed to leave ASAP! Being in Oklahoma, the drive to Florida was 18 hours so we packed the RV and hit the road and drove through the night non-stop… we missed him by 3 hours. He was a minister and an Air Force Vietnam Vet; and being retired Air Force myself, I wanted to do something that would both honor and encompass those things that he was so proud of, so I decided to make his urn. Not just any urn, one just for him. I took the rest of the day to rest and got right back on the road to Oklahoma first thing the next day. Once I got home, I only had 3 days to make the blank, turn it and get back on the road to make the funeral in time, so to say time was of the essence would be a huge understatement. It’s here that I would like to say that all went perfectly… but that’s just not the truth of it… in typical “Dad Fashion” it became difficult. Making the mold went perfectly. I placed walnut in a bucket in a way that created crosses in the negative space, in blue, white and steel colored resin. This was a three gallon pour as an urn of this size is substantial, so thankfully, this part was the part that went to plan. It was in the turning that things got interesting. It fought me… every.step.of.the.way. It chipped. It chunked. It flew off the lathe…TWICE! It was like the old man was right there over my shoulder, giving me a hard time, which tracks, as that was something of a hobby of his; the man loved to get folks riled up and was an expert at it. Mercifully, I was able to finish it as I intended with enough time to get a little rest before I drove back to Florida for the funeral. By the end of it all, I did in 3 days (with 4500 miles in between) what normally takes me about 2 weeks and it is one of my favorite large turned pieces still to this day and ranks right up there in the achievement category for me.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
A little about myself: I retired from the US Air Force after 21 years of Active Duty. I was in Aerospace Physiology and a Military Training Instructor (Drill Sergeant). Before that, I was a professional musician playing drums in Jazz bands locally and in college. Even did a stint on a cruise ship which is where I learned how to SCUBA dive. Now, I am a Master Diver and have had some amazing opportunities to dive in some crazy places, like a decommissioned nuclear missile silo, caves in Florida and even a lead mine in Missouri. The last real job I held was a couple years ago, working for an airline as a General Manager of Ground Operations and running the operations of two major airlines, very successfully I might add. This job was an absolute meat grinder of a job and I used to watch wood turning and acrylic pouring on youtube and social media to relax. Then one day, I decided that I bet it would be better to actually DO it than just to watch it. So that’s exactly what I did. I bought myself a cheap lathe, and the first thing I turned was a bell. It didn’t suck, so I made another thing, then another and it just kind of took off. Then I graduated to wood and resin turned pieces. Then that moved into making small end/coffee tables and now I am making currently making a 10.5’ table for a local client. The paintings have the exact same story, started making small pieces to get the gist of it, then the next thing I know I was making multiple 48×60” pieces for a 19-piece order in a medical office in Nebraska. Heck, someone asked me to make them a barn door… so I did! A huge 12’ beautiful door on rails. Now I have been displayed in multiple galleries and interior designers’ showrooms.
The crazy amazing journey of my life has taken me right here to Tulsa OK, to create DABAKH Studios where I get to utilize my above-mentioned experiences to create unique beautiful works of art. I make one-of-a-kind pieces, be it paintings, vases, urns or other turned styled pieces and tables of all shapes, sizes, and colors. I do not do the make a hundred of a thing and sell it at shows. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, its just not what I like to do. I like to focus on making the one instead of the many. One thing I would like any prospective client to know is that I am absolutely fearless and will try anything to make their one-of-a-kind piece. I have made a 10’ table for a local recording studio that had 40 gallons of resin in it making it 3” thick. There is no playing it safe with that much resin in one pour…the resin company was so excited about a pour that large that they were on the phone with me every day for a week making sure it was going to plan. It also had 20 full sized records in it. This table is over 500lbs and putting it on a lift, over my head and hand cranking it to a slim window of the third floor was both exhilarating and terrifying all at once! At the end of the day, a lot of very famous musicians have gotten to see and sit at one of my tables. That’s a hell of a thing. Fear does not allow stories like this to happen. Every one of my clients get that same fearlessness and dedication to their piece as that table and I am always looking for the next adventure
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
When I meet a client, and we go over what it is that they want me to make for them and the energy thats created in the process is exhilirating. Then, when they see their finished piece, and cry… or call it an heirloom piece and that their kids are gonna fight over who gets it later… that is so profoundly rewarding and little funny too.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Buy local art! First and foremost look around where you live and see if there’s someone in your area who makes what it is you’re looking for or want or need. When you buy “art” from big box stores or online, all you are doing is supporting another country’s economy or helping a big retailer squeeze out the local artists. How you may ask? Well, I went into a local big box store the other day, and there was a “wood/resin river table” in their display. This is not necessarily a bad thing, however, upon closer inspection it was a STICKER! The top was a decal of a river table stuck on cheap particle board… this is bad on many levels as it can negatively impact our local artist economy and the buyer is going to be disappointed when the big box piece looks terrible after a week. I make quality pieces that will be beautiful for a lifetime, with quality materials, handcrafted, and that’s expensive but it lasts. The big box store pieces that cut corners artificially depresses the price point and leads to unreal expectations. Looking and shopping local puts money in the paint trays of those artists who actually try, and succeed, at making beautiful art, boosts their confidence to make more and h0pefully help and inspire others to become artists as well. There is no need to be a “Starving Artist” if we would just buy local.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dabakhstudios.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dabakhstudios/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dabakhstudios/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-boynton-mpa-pmf-666ab5a7/
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DabakhStudios
Image Credits
DABAKH Studios