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Tom Schneider Arts

  • WORK
  • Gilded Thresholds
  • Blade Series
  • Sculpture
  • Furniture
  • About
  • CV
  • Contact

GILDED THRESHOLDS

Gilded Thresholds is a collection of intimate sculptural shrines shaped from decaying wood, suspended forms, and chambers lit with gold. Each piece serves as a threshold — a small sanctuary where the broken and the whole, the visible and the unseen, the earthly and the luminous meet.

DEER FOREST

Spalted maple, bass wood, aluminum, gold leaf.
19”W x 33”H x 4.5”D
$4,800

Deer Forest is a shrine of quiet presence — a place where the forest breathes through grain, shadow, and the soft glimmer of gold.

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ARUNA GATE

Spalted Maple, Hemp Jute, Gold Leaf
13”W x 19”L x 3”D
$2,600

In Aruna Gate, the Japanese word aruna (moon) becomes the silent witness of transformation. Two sets of triangles—one interior, one exterior—frame the passage from shadow into light. The crown, wrapped in hemp jute and finished to resemble bone, nods to raw form and hidden vitality. The interior is inlaid, brick by brick, with 24 K gold leaf: a luminous chamber born of fracture and repair. At the center, a magnetized interlocking clasp binds the form and gives this Moon Gate its name—inviting not just entry, but connection.

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DRAGON KING SHRINE

Curly Maple, Elk Ribs, Horse Hair, Bison Bone Beads, Gold Leaf
16”W x 40”H x 3.5”D
$2600

Dragon King Shrine is a work of elemental force — a shrine shaped by fire, shadow, and the golden flicker of spirit. The vertical planes rise like stone pillars or armor plates, creating a sense of power and guardianship. Elk rib bones introduce both vulnerability and ancient memory — a reminder that strength and fragility, creation and destruction, are always intertwined.

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SUMI SHRINE #2

Spalted Beech, Basswood, Obsidian Beads, Gold Leaf
12”W x 25”H x 3.75”D
SOLD

In Sumi Shrine II, the language of ink and shadow becomes architecture. The form is reduced, intentional, and contemplative — a darkened exterior that holds a quiet glowing interior, like a candle hidden inside a stone alcove.

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TORII SHRINE

Spalted Maple, bass wood, gold leaf, obsidean beads
15”W x 4”D x 21”H
$3000

The Torii Shrine draws its inspiration from the Torii gates of Japan — markers of transition, entry, and the movement from the everyday into the sacred. Ink-darkened surfaces create strong architectural lines, grounding the piece in shadow and depth, while the inner chamber reveals a softened world gilded with warm, subtle gold.

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TEMPLE OF MYSTERY

This piece is an exploration using more abstract and gestural forms with the other themes and motifs of the series. I selected small scraps of beautifully decayed oak burl from previous sculptures and constructed them to look like a natural rock formation. The upper structure and shelf are both hung from hidden wall connectors. The string set is hung by thin wires from pin sized holes in the wall. The interior arch and steps are carved and gilded with individual gold leaf bricks.

That place among the rocks - is it a cave or winding path?


Oak burl wood, fire treated sticks, string, gold leaf
12.5”W x 30”H x 6”D
$3000

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VEINS OF THE HIDDEN GROVE

spalted maple, bass wood, hemp jute, gold leaf
20”W x 8”D x 24”H
$3800

Veins of the Hidden Grove draws its power from the natural mapping within spalted wood — those branching black lines formed by time, decay, and the quiet labor of unseen organisms. These organic pathways become a kind of forest cartography, tracing the invisible exchanges between life and dissolution. A shrine to the hidden life of the forest.

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BURL CHAPEL

This piece of wood is a cross section of a maple burl with the end cap still exposed. It is hinged to a copper plate so it can be seen in both its open and closed form.

Maple Burl
Bison Rib
Oxidized Copper
Bison Bone Beads
22”w x 45”H x 5.5”D
$2800

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THE LAND OF BEETLES

This piece came from an obscure dream image. The form I saw in the dream made no sense for a sculpture but seemed perfectly suited for a shrine. In 2023 I gave this piece a facelift and painted with life forms borrowed from Hilma af Klint’s paintings; Childhood, Youth and Adulthood.

Bass Wood
Crystal Beads
Gold Leaf
7”W x 16”H x 7”D
$3500

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SKY LADDER SHRINE

Maple Burl, Gold Leaf, Twine, Bamboo
3.5”W x 27”H x 3”D
SOLD

Sky Ladder Shrine embodies ascent — not as ambition, but as quiet inner rising. A central ladder-like structure climbs toward the upper chamber, each rung a step between earth and sky. The shrine’s architecture is narrow and vertical, guiding the eye upward in a gesture of lightness.

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SEVEN GATES SHRINE

Birch Bark (doors)
Bamboo (columns)
Bamboo Veneer
Aspen (walls)
Chakra Windows
Walnut (floors)
Brass Door Pulls
Gold Metal Leaf

7”W x 38”H x 5”D
SOLD

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ATHENA

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SHRINE OF QUIET WINGS

Maple Burl, Porcupine Quills, Horse Hair, Gold Leaf
9”W x 16”H x 2”D
$1100

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ARUNA GATE #5

Spalted Maple, Hemp Jute, Gold Leaf
13”W x 19”L x 3”D
$2,800

In Aruna Gate, the Japanese word aruna (moon) becomes the silent witness of transformation. Two sets of triangles—one interior, one exterior—frame the passage from shadow into light. The crown, wrapped in hemp jute and finished to resemble bone, nods to raw form and hidden vitality. Within the hollow ends, the interior is inlaid, brick by brick, with 24 K gold leaf: a luminous chamber born of fracture and repair. At the center, a magnetized interlocking clasp binds the form and gives this Moon Gate its name—inviting not just entry, but connection.

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SUMI SHRINE #3

This piece was inspired from some brush marks in one of my gestural drawings. Sumi is a type of black Japanese ink. Often used used for calligraphy.

The beads were arranged to resemble dripping ink.

Spalted Beech, Basswood, Obsidian Beads, Gold Leaf
14”W x 28”H x 4.25”D
SOLD

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ARRIVAL

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prev / next
Back to Gilded Thresholds
6
DEER FOREST
6
ARUNA GATE
6
DRAGON KING SHRINE
IMG-1972+copy.jpg
6
SUMI SHRINE #2
6
TORII SHRINE
TM_2 copy 3.jpg
5
TEMPLE OF MYSTERY
unnamed-3 copy 2.jpg
4
VEINS OF THE HIDDEN GROVE
5
BURL CHAPEL
IMG-5028 copy.jpg
7
THE LAND OF BEETLES
7
SKY LADDER SHRINE
6
SEVEN GATES SHRINE
3
ATHENA
6
SHRINE OF QUIET WINGS
6
ARUNA GATE #5
4
SUMI SHRINE #3
4
ARRIVAL