"Lights Over Venice" Chandelier of Cherry and Maple fashioned after the Venetian glass chandeliers of Murano, Venice.   James Duxbury. artist

“Lights Over Venice” Chandelier of Cherry and Maple fashioned after the Venetian glass chandeliers of Murano, Venice.
James Duxbury. artist

Husband-and-wife Jim and Rita Duxbury are the featured artists at the Mebane Arts & Community Center, 633 Corregidor St., Mebane.

Their functional, 3-D art has been crafted on a wood lathe. Many of the pieces are turned using local wood and others incorporate exotic wood from around the world. The pieces include a full-size, ready-to-wear wooden cowboy hat, a chandelier fashioned after the Italian glass of Venice and other unique items.

Their work will be on display starting Friday through July 15 in the community center’s gallery.

Rita Zoccolante Duxbury is a Massachusetts native. She is a part-time librarian at Alamance Community College. A retired U.S. Naval Intelligence officer, she has traveled the world. With an appreciation for the beauty and qualities of wood, and with the mentoring of her husband, she has gone from sweeping sawdust to creating her own pieces.

“Each day is a new adventure and I approach life just that way, realizing that there are not enough hours in the day to learn, experiment, explore and create,” she said. “Woodturning and teaching others the skill of turning has become a part of my focus — as it is my husband’s life and much a part of our daily routine.”

James N. “Jim” Duxbury is a perfectionist known for “thinking out of the box.” “I pride myself in creating wooden items of beauty that also are designed to function well,” he said. “My fascination with wood and wood grains, from the most exotic to the common native varieties, and my ability to employ the wood lathe and adapt tools, lead to experiments of new and exciting ideas. Prototypes abound. I admire creativity and have a keen appreciation for wood as a natural media.”

Jim quit working in 1996 but has since obtained two U.S. Patents. The inventor of particulate dust respirators, his company, Duxterity LLC, markets the Resp-O-Rator™, and Elegant Creations, his gallery of fine wooden objects, includes Kaleidoscope Plans, Kaleidoscope Building DVD and custom wooden Kaleidoscopes.

For more details on their exhibit, call 336-226-4495 or visit www.artsalamance.org.