After our morning tour with Fleur, she gave us a map and told us all about how to navigate DC during a large scale civic event. Her life long experience as a Washingtonian gave us the quickest shortcut of all. It was Pride day in the District, and when we realized the potential for traffic, we were happy to be headed out to the ‘burbs to visit Dr. Jeffery Bernstein & Dr. Judy Chernoff.
Judy answered the door with a smile and we walked into a world of art and love. Everyone seemed excited for the moment – especially our hosts – who promptly gave us two choices – ‘Are you hungry? …Or do you want to talk about art?’ To a resounding, “Lets talk about Art!”, we headed into the den. Wood sculptures large and small were tastefully placed on, and amongst the furnishings. Sky lights above brought natural light into the rooms and there was a sense of appreciation and comfort all about the place. We wandered about & Jeff and Judy told of their personal stories behind every piece. I found myself happy that i had started this adventure off with the EX-1 in my hands. Being primarily a ‘stills guy’, i was so excited to be filming – if nothing else, because I was capturing audio too. For the stories i heard that day, audio was key, to say the least.
Jeff enjoys sharing.
To be able to touch and feel master works, is the kind of direct exposure we have enjoyed along the way.
After a while, we sat down for a break at the kitchen table. Not just any kitchen table; rather – a giant painters pallet. Over a great meal, we each shared a little bit about ourselves and in turn, everyone got to learn more about one another. Sharing a meal is perhaps one of the greatest ways to get to know each other… Judy is a photographer, Jane is a teacher, Luc had never been on an airplane before, Dereks father was an artist also, Wonjoo visualizes wood in very different ways and Jeff is the current president of The Collectors of Wood Art.
Jeff & Judy showed us works in wood that were extremely fragile. Paper thin works... pieces intricately, thinly designed. I was grateful to know the Bernsteins were taking good care of them.
Wonjoo observes 'a monster' being set back on the table.
Wonjoo Park
If not for organizations like The Wood Turning Center and The Collectors for Wood Art, these stories may never have been told.