Friday, March 19th, 2010
I just left the kitchen here at work. For the past several days someone has been leaving one of those free daily newspapers on one of the tables. I don’t read them, generally because they are gossip rags and I could care less who’s sleeping with whom, or who’s overdosing on the latest designer drugs. Nevertheless, I glanced down at the cover as I walked by.
At first glance, I was taken aback to have seen a naked woman on the cover. It shocked me enough that I stopped, backed up and took another look at it. I could have sworn that I had just seen a partially naked woman on that paper. But it wasn’t – not by a long shot.
What I realized was that I was looking at the paper upside down. There was a large man on the cover with his sleeveless arms folded across his chest. Somehow the upside down, naked and muscular forearms, and bony elbows made me think of a nude woman.
Granted, I’m just as prone to thinking of nude women just as much as the next guy, but I don’t normally associate mustachioed, overweight, sunglasses and black t-shirt wearing thug-like bald men with beautiful naked women. In my book/brain, the two are as polar opposites as oil and water.
So my only recourse is to think that my spacial/dimensional perspective on the picture, with only a split second to observe it, was to blame for the misinterpretation of the image.
What does that say for how we approach our craft? About how we regard it? About how we view other woodworkers’ designs before they are built?
I have always had preconceptions about other people’s designs. Especially Arts & Crafts, Shaker-esque, and designs derived from Greene & Greene (as it seems G & G is becoming a very popular sub-culture in Arts & Crafts). These preconceptions haven’t been favorable.
While some of the designs may be appealing to my eye, they generally feel soulless to me. Soulless, because they’ve been over-done in my book. But that’s my perspective. I’ve been known to look at things from a very skewed point of view. Often! So please take my personal preconceptions as just that – my PERSONAL preconceptions.
So this revelation, if you can call it that, calls into question something that I’ve been focusing on lately. ‘What is good design?’ And ‘What does it mean to be a good furniture designer?’
I wonder if my questions are now going to be answered similarly to the well-known and dubious answer to ‘What is Art?’ – ‘Art is what I say it is.’ or ‘Art is what I point at and say This is Art.’
Posted in Design, Furniture, Woodworking | 3 Comments »
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
Tommy MacDonald and Laurie Donnelly announce that WGBH has signed a deal with Tommy for a new woodworking television show!
Stay tuned for the details.
Tags: laurie donnelly, Rick Waters, Tommy MacDonald, wgbh, wood, Woodworking
Posted in Furniture, Podcast, Woodworking | No Comments »
Friday, September 18th, 2009
Take a look at This new blog – Spudwood
‘Garage Sale’ at Designed Stairs in Sandwich, IL
* 24 bdft pink Lyptus (in 7 boards)
* 13”x1”x8’ Hemlock
* 6 short boards of 14”wx1”t yellow pine stairs
* 40 4” C clamps for about $20
* 3 6’x1”dia acrylic rods
* 50’ electrical cord autoreel
* 5’ level
Jim Birch (flooracle) from Erickson Decorating in Chicago, and Barry Gork from Timbermate – Timbermate products
* Used the Walnut on my railing
Jim Birch (flooracle) – free flooring samples
* Somewhere around 200bdft of S. American hardwood flooring samples
* 20 bdft of Oak hardwood flooring
Projects
* Magnetic board project – Finished
* Shop table
* Toy Chest
* Wine Cabinet Door
New Tools
* Adze
* Chisel
* Bench Vise
* Calipers (Free from Rockler )
* Folding rule (Free from Charles Neil)
* Abrasive wheels (free from Dremel)
* Scroll Saw
* Flexible sanding pads (Klingspor)
* Tons of sandpaper (Klingspor)
* Abrasive lathe pads (As seen on RWW)
Tags: barry gork, chisels, flooracle, Furniture, hemlock, jim birch, lyptus, miter, oak, projects, spudwood, stairs, timbermate, Tools, wood
Posted in Furniture, Games and Hobbies, Podcast, Woodworking | No Comments »
Thursday, September 10th, 2009
I don’t normally like talking about much about people that I am not extremely familiar with. And no, I’m not that familiar with the two gentlemen I’ll write about today. Not because they don’t inspire, not because I don’t respect them, but because I’ve not taken the time to really dig down into their works and research all that they’ve done.
But I believe these two individuals, the craftsmen, these artists, deserve some attention. Over the past few months the woodworking and handmade furniture worlds have lost two legends of their own time. I’d like to take a moment to pay tribute.
Sam Maloof and James Krenov inspired more woodworkers than they, or anyone, will ever know. I’m sure that their works will continue to inspire new woodworkers and artists for generations to come.
It’s difficult for some of us to grasp, that both of these gentlemen found a way to reform a piece of common furniture in their own style, and became famous for it. Maloof’s rockers and Krenov’s cabinets on stands and planes have become their signature creations, while both actually accomplished much more.
What I believe adds to their allure, though, was Maloof’s gentle kindness and Krenov’s Zen approach. What I hope this inspires in us, too, is to sit back and reflect upon what our creations reflect about us, our dedication to the craft, our emotional connection to the product of our labors, and our approaches to our craft.
Woodworking and furniture making can be a very personal activity. Teaching these skills makes them more accessible and passes on, at times, a lifetime of experience. Maloof and Krenov have taught countless aspiring woodworkers their craft and life lessons.
For these reasons, I wish Sam Maloof and James Krenov peace.
Tags: Krenov, Maloof
Posted in Furniture, Woodworking | No Comments »
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
A quick look at over 150 pictures I took at WIA Chicago 2009. More longer audio and shorter video episodes on WIA will follow.
Posted in Furniture, Podcast, Woodworking | 1 Comment »