Jeff Neil displays his wares in his workshop.
Jeff Neil, Gray, Tennessee, creates works of art from wood. Since his early retirement from engineering, his woodworking has gone from part-time to full-time with a focus on making various jewelry and heirloom boxes. In recent years, he has begun to incorporate quilt patterns into many of his boxes with the shape of the box being inspired by the quilt block name.
He also enjoys crafting bent-wood oval Shaker boxes. While many of his heirloom boxes have over 100 pieces in their construction, oval Shaker boxes have only four pieces. He uses cherry, walnut, sycamore, birds-eye maple and curly maple woods for the Shaker box sides. Additionally, he adds traditional American quilt blocks on the lids of many of his Shaker boxes using wood veneers.
“My woodworking journey began with an adult education class for beginners in the early 1980s. This was combined with a love for visiting fine craft galleries as we vacationed around the country. The result was a desire to move from simple woodworking into making finer crafted pieces.
“I am a largely self-taught woodworker but supplemented this with several classes taught by master craftsmen. For example, my first bent Shaker oval box was made in 2006 at a class my wife gifted me at the Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, New Hampshire. It was inspiring to work in the same building used by early Shaker woodworkers making the same timeless box design 180 years ago and still using their same methods.
“As a woodworker I, of course, am always inspired by a beautiful piece of lumber where the color and grain are calling to be made into something special. I am also inspired by well-done crafts in a variety of mediums that show what beauty can be made with our hands,” Neil says.
He is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and sells his work through their shops. His boxes have been selected for inclusion in three Best of Tennessee Craft exhibits. One of those boxes was purchased by the Tennessee State Museum for its collection. Additionally, he is a member of Holston Mountain Artisans in Abingdon, Virginia. His work can also be found in the HMA shop, as well as the Birthplace of Country Music Museum Gift Shop in Bristol, Virginia.
“Holston Mountain Artisans is where I first began selling my woodworking efforts, and I learned so much about selling fine crafts there. They have a long history as a group but remain small enough to not be lost within a larger craft organization.
“I have made thousands of boxes over the years but still get a surge of satisfaction each time I complete a box. Also, I am still learning and improving my craft. My work is better than it was five, 10 or 20 years ago with room for still further growth,” Neil says.
