Hugh McKay’s mind-blowing Tripot #5 showed me new possibilities with multi-axis turning, using a lathe as a starting point.
Hugh McKay – Tripot #5
Defects Are Hints For Something Better
In all the creative work I have done with live-edge material, I have always looked at a cut section - where a limb was removed or the material cut to length - as a shortcoming. But recently, I had an epiphany. Like so many of my revelations, this one came while experimenting on a piece … Continue reading Defects Are Hints For Something Better
Butternut – it Carves like Butter with a Hot Knife
The latest addition to my catalog of air-dried slabs for sale is butternut (Juglans cinerea). A relative to the highly sought-after black walnut, butternut shares the same grain patterns but the colour is lighter - similar to the shades of bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum). Butternut is also lighter in weight and softer than black walnut, making … Continue reading Butternut – it Carves like Butter with a Hot Knife
What Defines Form?
There's no part in [a motorcycle], no shape in [a motorcycle], that is not out of someone's mind... a person who does machining or foundry work or forge work or welding sees "steel" as having no shape at all. Steel can be any shape you want if you are skilled enough, and any shape but the one … Continue reading What Defines Form?
Wireframe Cabinet
Ever since I started Insanity 2, I've been thinking about cabinets. It seemed to me that cabinets meant for displaying things more often than not accumulated so many things that they ended up looking messy. I realized that the problem was that too much horizontal surface was available. My solution was to provide only enough … Continue reading Wireframe Cabinet
Armature Wire as a Modelling Tool
I have been looking for a material which can be used to develop scaled-down furniture designs. I wanted something tangible that I could handle and manipulate. I wanted something that could be used to easily create a scale model of furniture that I could hold in my hand and easily make modifications. Many options for … Continue reading Armature Wire as a Modelling Tool
Insanity 2: The Top
Last week, I put three sheets of 1/8" Baltic birch plywood between two forms I made to create the top of the cabinet for the doors. Although the glue-up seemed to go smoothly, I couldn't be sure of the success until I removed it from the form. I let the bent lamination set for two … Continue reading Insanity 2: The Top
Exhibition at Gallery Bistro
Since many of my readers are too far away to come to my exhibition, I have this video to provide an idea of what it looks like. (As a reminder to my local readers, the Gallery Bistro is open 10am-3pm Tuesday through Sunday and I am at the gallery most Sundays.) Some pieces which you … Continue reading Exhibition at Gallery Bistro
Hilden & Diaz – Forms in Nature
Title: Forms in Nature Artist Name: Hilden & Diaz Material: Polymer Dimensions: 60cm x 60cm x 60cm Year: 2012 Why It's Notable: Light can be functional, decorative, or both. The light from Forms in Nature is both. As furniture designers, we usually think about the form of our furniture and how light will fall upon it. Because light … Continue reading Hilden & Diaz – Forms in Nature
Broken Square
Broken Square originated from a drawing in my sketch book. I had been playing with variations of a cube when this form emerged. In the drawing, it stood on two edges but I later realized that it would sit nicely on three points. Intrigued by the form, I built a version using square cherry stock. Although I … Continue reading Broken Square
Sculptural Woodwork by Chris Wong 