Stephen Gleasner rode his latest art project to the gallery the night of the opening. He put in the key, turned the ignition and the motorcycle rumbled to life. Gleasner, who is best known as a wood turner and plywood wizard, made all the accessories for his retrofitted 1980s-era Honda Gold Wing from wood – the seat, fenders, gas tank and side covers. Even a funky-looking peanut helmet, which probably would do little to protect his head in a fall but adds nicely to the creative aesthetic.

“It’s pretty out there,” he said. “I like pursuing the next thing. I can’t help it. This was an opportunity to put out something that is not something I’ve done before.”

His pursuit of the next thing has left him an artist in transition, and always looking up to the next challenge. As soon as he masters one thing, he tries something new.

Gleasner’s insatiable desire to not repeat himself led him to the Gold Wing. He likes restoring neglected things, and he especially likes doing the unexpected. He’s an artist ahead of his time, taking chances, redefining his medium and creating things that leave people wondering how he did it.

As with many self-sufficient Mainers, he dabbles in many things and hesitates to call himself an artist.

“What am I?” he asks. “What do I do? I don’t even have a website, because I don’t know what I do.”

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His medium is wood, but his work is more about layers than material. By building up and refining thin layers of plywood, he can make just about anything. His plywood bowls more closely resemble blown glass, so fine are his finishes. He makes wooden coffee mugs that could be ceramic. He makes. rings that look like gold or silver.

He turns balusters for contractors who are restoring old houses, and he builds furniture.

A little bit of this, a little of that. And now, a wooden motorcycle.

Gleasner, 53, lives in Appleton and teaches at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, which is where he showed his motorcycle this summer in a faculty exhibition.

He found the bike abandoned three years ago, but has envisioned this project for 15 years, which is about the time he moved to Appleton. (He grew up in Buffalo).

He doesn’t plan to stop with one. He has two other bikes waiting for his makeover. He put a $20,000 price tag on it in the Rockport show, and would have welcomed a sale, but part of him is happy it didn’t sell.

“Now I have a motorcycle,” he said. “I didn’t have one before.”


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