In the bottomland of the Missouri River 45 minutes west of St. Louis, Michael Bauermeister's woodworking studio fills the first floor of the 1920-era Meinershagen general store. Other than a grain silo, it is the only structure in what was once Nona, Mo., but is now thousands of acres of fertile corn fields.

The tranquility is perfectly matched to the wood sculptor, 51, who loves the solitude, the rural Missouri countryside and his anonymity. In fact, few of the 218 residents in nearby Augusta know what the quiet, unassuming artist does for a living. Yet his name and his art is well-known to commercial designers and individual art collectors across the nation.

The American folk art collection at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington includes two of his wood sculptures. In Russia and Abu Dhabi, his art is displayed in the lobby of the American embassies. Gallery owners from Seattle to Los Angeles and New York to Miami sell his work.

Most of his pieces are elongated, smooth cylindrical shapes that are narrow at the base and flared out near the top, with small openings suggesting some type of vessel.

For Bauermeister to construct large pieces in shapes he enjoys, he had to develop his own method. The technique involves slicing separate layers of wood from a single block, and then stacking and gluing them back together into a contemporary shape. "What I do would not be possible to make from a block of wood," he says.

To further shape the object, a variety of turning techniques are used, some of which he has invented. For example, many woodworkers use a lathe that turns a piece of wood while a stationary tool carves out a uniform pattern. Bauermeister turns his lathe at very slow speed, and uses power tools to carve asymmetrical shapes. He also employs custom-made tools to gouge out different surface textures.

But his shapes are continually evolving. When several potential customers mentioned they admired his tall pieces but had no floor space, he began making undulating wood sculptures that can be mounted on a wall. "I use the same method, but on a vertical wall plane," he explains, referring to the wall sculpture as a type of "wooden canvas."

Next, he says, will be even larger sculptures that can be installed outdoors.

Visitors to his studio are likely to find him intently studying a piece of wood before he begins the steady rhythm of his hammer tapping a wood chisel. The gouges left by the chisel blade leave a scalloped pattern characteristic of many of his pieces. When finished, it will be one-of-a-kind, likely to sell for $4,000 or more, and be destined for a private collector or exhibit anywhere in the world.

On the second floor above the workshop, several rooms of a pristine white-walled gallery display stunningly beautiful 6-foot-high contemporary vessels Bauermeister has sculpted.

Bauermeister's art talent was evident as early as sixth grade in art class in Hanley Junior High School in University City. "I loved making clay figures," he recalls. "I remember thinking even then sculpting is what I am supposed to do." After graduating from University City High School, he studied art and sculpture at St. Louis Community College at Meramec, and then at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Minneapolis was too conceptual, and he left to earn a degree in sculpture at the Kansas City Art Institute, where he began to focus exclusively on wood.

After graduation Bauermeister moved to Augusta to earn a living designing and making custom wood furniture. "It was easier to market than wood sculpture. They never taught us how to sell in college," he says. However, never having given up on his dream to sculpt, he eventually started sculpting small wooden bowls.

"When one of my sons asked me to make something as big as he was, I sculpted a large vase. Then I wanted to make one as big as I was. Now that is what I do," he says laughing and referring to his art as "human scale" wooden sculpture. "I have not encountered another wood turner working as large as I do, or using the textures or finishes or colors like I do. It is important to me to have my own 'voice.' "

Eventually he began selling his vases, and the freedom to create contemporary art became his obsession. Now he is living his dream. "Every morning I look forward to coming to the studio and know I can support a family creating sculpture."

Bauermeister prefers working with Missouri woods such as cherry, walnut, oak, maple, Osage orange and pine, and he is careful to not waste the natural resource. Most of his wood comes from Lumber Logs, an urban log recycler in St. Louis that collects downed trees that normally would end up being ground up, burned or buried. Most of the salvaged wood goes for pallets or railroad ties, but the best are kiln dried and sold to users such as Bauermeister.

"I feel good I am not using wood that was clear cut and harvested for resale," he says. "Also, the wood from Lumber Logs has more character. It has grown more slowly, so the grain is tighter and more pronounced. Commercially grown wood is boring."

A few years ago when he tired of sculpting wood in natural hues of brown, Bauermeister began adding color to his art using a clear lacquer enriched with colors he has mixed himself. "I like my colors to look as if they occurred naturally," he says, adding that he gets his inspiration from the landscapes and seasons wherever he travels. "I enjoy using the entire color vocabulary found in the natural world."

Bauermeister's work has been more popular on the east and west coasts than in Missouri, but that is beginning to change. One reason is the St. Louis Art Fair, which will be held on the streets of Clayton on Sept. 10-12. "It will be the sixth time I will have a booth there, and it is one of the few shows I attend," he says. "It has been very worthwhile for me."

MICHAEL BAUERMEISTER

Where • 6560 Augusta Bottom Road, Augusta

More info • 636-228-4663, michael@bauermeister.com