blocks

I made a set of blocks for a charitable auction my sister organized.  Many more sets are waiting to be assembled.

The squirrel eaten walnut is my most plentiful resource.

Leggy display cabinets

Dennis Lin was preparing a show for the Spoke Club and he asked me to make three museum quality cabinets as part of his ambitious vision.  The glass cases were to house three beautiful artifacts he had collected and manipulated to accentuate the preciousness and delicacy of the natural world.

He sketched out his idea for the shape on my workbench top.

Presenting objects behind glass that most people would discard or ignore but are extremely complex and beautiful resounded with my sensibility and spoke volumes about our relationship with our environment.  I was more than happy to play a minor role in realizing this statement.

One of three.

Mapping out the shapes was an absolute joy.

The arc of the skirt flows into curves of the legs.  The hand carved legs capture the strength and fragility of an animal physiology.

Three sets of legs upside down on the bench.

The curve of the thigh.

The strength of the hip with a mortise and tenon joint.

I minimized the dimension of the glass frame so as not to distract from the object being displayed.  Assembling the glass and frame was the most challenging part of the process.

Compound mitre corner.

Dennis’ show was a great success showcasing his ability to create dramatic shapes and textures with both delicate wisps wood and slabs of curved steel. Some time after the event, I was in Klaus by Nienkamper furniture store and one of the cabinets with it’s object of fascination, a fan of ant eaten wood, was quietly standing in corner.  Each time I visited the store the cabinet occupied a new spot.  Here it stands on the mezzanine.

table for heather

Heather asked me to build some furniture for the addition on the schoolhouse.  The completion of the renovation and delivery of the table and benches would mark the first anniversary of John’s death.

I first met John in 2004 after I took over the workshop on Milky Way.  He hoped to continue getting specially shaped bits of wood to function as this or that and plywood boxes to fill the spots that needed filling.  Mahogany, cherry, birch, spar varnish, oil, wax, business, home, boat, schoolhouse.  We worked together a few times a year.

In February of 2009 we met for lunch at Shoeless Joe’s.  Beer, a sandwich, some fries.  Meeting to discuss details of a job included a few tall tales and good laughs.  I’ll call you with the final decision he said.  Two weeks passed and no word.  One last email from me. The return message from John’s business partner… John had been killed while snowboarding.  Woah!  My head was spinning.

Later that year his wife Heather contacted me and asked if I would build a dining table and benches for the schoolhouse.  We went back a forth with pictures and samples.  With the general idea established she said go ahead and do what you think is best.

The crossed skirt.

Curved support skirt with turned top leg post.

Bit of sap wood and bark.

Table with benches.

I tell this story because I feel privileged that Heather asked me to make, as she called it, an heirloom for her family.  As I worked, my focus on the task was permeated with thoughts of John and a good life lived.