The Wooden Doerr

Creating Turned Wood Art from God's Creation

As artists, our primary goal is to reveal the beautiful grains and colors that God has hidden in so many different trees. We accomplish this by creating one-of-a-kind handcrafted turnings of visual and functional art made from both domestic and exotic woods. Granular turquoise and embellishing techniques such as pyrography, painting, and dying are sometimes used to enhance the beauty of the turnings. As woodturners, we use a lathe and hand-held tools to focus our energy on creating bowls, hollow forms/vases, platters, pens and pendants. Because of the nature of the grain and color of wood, no two turnings are ever the same.

Our artwork makes wonderful gifts. Some of our turnings have been given as gifts to government and business officials in the United States and in other countries around the world. Please take the time to look through our website and enjoy the some of the various pieces of functional and visual art that we have created.

Steve & Valerie Doerr

Below are a few examples of our turnings that represent the uniqueness of our work. For additional examples check out our Product Gallery by clicking on the button at the top of this page.

The Red Planet (Turning 1829)-- This handcrafted wide rimmed dish was turned by Steve from a piece of Curly Big Leaf Maple. The rim has been dyed red to enhance the figure in the wood and then finished with cyanoacrylate to create a high gloss durable finish. The rest of the turning has been finished with a blend of oils and buffed with a coat of carnauba wax to give many years of enjoyment. The finish is food safe. The dish is 11 ½”W x 2 3/4" and cost $350.

3 Texas Ebony Natural Edge Bowls-- These handcrafted natural edge bowls were turned by Valerie from Texas Ebony. Inlace turquoise was used to fill some cracks and bug holes. It has been dipped in a blend of oils and buffed with a coat of carnauba wax. The turning is food safe. The bowls are 9”W x 3 ¼”H, 6 ¼”W x 3”H, and 6”W x 2 ½”H. These turnings have been SOLD.
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Antiquity 5—Turning 1743-- This handcrafted platter was turned Steve from a piece of Cherry Burl. The turning contains some bark inclusion and bug holes. It was turned while the wood was still green and allowed to warp as it dried. The combination of the inclusions, bug holes and warping has created a nice appearance of age. The turning has been dipped in a blend of oils and buffed with a coat of carnauba wax. The finish is food safe. This platter is 18 ¼”W x 3”H. SOLD.

Trio of Mulberry Burl Natural Edge Bowls. These handcrafted natural edge bowls were turned by Valerie from a Mulberry Burl. Inlace turquoise was used to fill some cracks and bug holes. It has been dipped in a blend of oils and buffed with a coat of carnauba wax. The turning is food safe. The bowls are 9 ¼”W x 3 ¾”H, 7 3/8”W x 4 ¼”H, and 6 3/8”W x 3 ¾”H. SOLD.

Copper Treasure (Turning 1875)--This handcrafted hollow form was custom hand turned hollow form that was turned by Steve from a piece of Maple. The copper patina was created by oxidizing a metallic paint containing copper crystals. The finish is not food safe. This hollow form is 7 ½”W x 9”H and cost $350.

This turning is currently part of the Missouri Art Now, a traveling art tour taking place in 5 different cities in Missouri from March through November 2021.

Shield of Jerusalem (Turning 1954)-- is custom hand turned shield that was crafted by Steve Doerr from a slab of Red Coolibah Burl. The stippled band was created using a pyrography technique. The turning has been dipped in a blend of oils and buffed with a coat of carnauba wax to give many years of enjoyment. It is 14 3/4"W x 12 1/2"H x 1"T. SOLD

The pen shown to the right was given to President Barrack Obama when he came to speak at the commencement ceremony for Joplin High School in June, 2012. The wood used to make this pen came from one of the oak trees at Joplin High School that was destroyed by the EF5 tornado of May 22, 2011 that destroyed approximately 25% of the city of Joplin, Missouri.

This pen was given to Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri when he came, along with President Obama to speak to the graduating class of 2012 at Joplin High School. It too is made from one of the oak trees at Joplin High School that was destroyed by the May 22, 2011 tornado.

Many of our customers have requested us to make commemorative turnings from trees that were on family owned property. This has allowed many of them to have a keepsake from their childhood home. Below are some examples of these turnings.

Site created and Maintained by
Steve Doerr
sdoerr@thewoodendoerr.com
Joplin, Missouri
Created: September 2010
Updated: November 2022