Pencil Artist of the Week: Brent Sommerhauser

This week’s pencil artist is a sculptor by the name of Brent Sommerhauser. His body of work features everything from glasswork and wood sculptures, to a sculpture made entirely of copy paper. It’s what Brent does with the common pencil, however, that caught our attention.

An MFA graduate from The Ohio State University, Brent’s website says he “enjoys taking things apart and putting things together” and “not necessarily in that order.” This interest is immediately apparent in his pencil sculptures, which feature pencils that have been bundled together and carved as a single block of wood. A number of these sculptures take the form of ripples and waves, but others take on more bizarre and interesting shapes, such as one sculpture that resembles a pair of hands resting on a desk.

Brent’s work is unlike anything we have ever seen before. The visible hexagonal shape of each individual pencil gives his sculptures a very geometric and grid-like look. Yet, the shapes the he transforms them into are very organic and natural. This contrast is one that is both pleasing to the eye and to the mind. It is also one that is very familiar, evoking images of bee hives, cell structures and all of the complex beauty that makes up the natural world.