Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Finally Finished!

After 9 long months it is finally finished and hanging in our living room! The new frame is purlpleheart. Now maybe I can move on to other projects. . .

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Lighthouse Update

It has been a while since I posted to this blog. In an attempt to bring it up to date, I am including some posts from an intarsia/inlay/segmentation discussion group to which I belong (http://www.scrollsawer.com/forum/intarsia-inlay-and-segmentation). The other guys and gals of his on-line group have been a great support and have given me the encouragement and motivation to finish my current project.


--1-19-2010 --
I have a big project that I am making for my own home -- no deadline (challenge #1). I feel guilty working on something else until it is finished because I have a history of starting projects (not just intarsia) and not finishing them (challenge #2--feeling guilty).

It is cut out and about 90% shaped but I have lost a few pieces that need to be re-cut. (challenge #3). I had the bright idea of doing a custom frame. The frame was one of the first things I cut out and glued up. In routing the frame, my router got off and I utterly ruined the frame. It needs to be completely redone (challenge #4).

So I'm having a hard time getting motivated as well. I see all the great things everyone else is doing and it is only making me feel more guilty. Why should a hobby, something I really love, make me feel guilty? Reading through some of the other comments here, I think I'm about ready to put my big boy pants on and tackle it.

--1-20-2010--
I am posting a couple of pictures here just as a reference point of where I left off. Everything is just as I left it oh so many weeks ago--the pieces are all jumbled on the work table where I dumped them out to work on the frame. The mis-routered (is that a word??) frame is lying on the floor.

My first step is to reassemble the piece and take stock of what missing pieces need to be re-cut and what pieces need to be re-sanded to get the color back. Luckily I had applied finish to a few pieces so they haven't lost their color. I've decided to first finish the inside picture then work on the frame. Then I need to re-cut and router the frame. The idea for the frame was to route a 5/8" channel all the way around and then inlay a 5/8" rope into the frame. My router got away from me because I was trying to be in too much of a hurry and didn't want to dig out my router table. Lesson learned.

--1-24-10--
I ended up working most of the weekend but I was able to sneak a little time in the shop to put everything back together and take inventory.

Some of the pieces are suppose to be shimmed so some of the shaping is off. I counted 6 pieces I am missing that will need to be cut (plus the shims). Aside from the missing pieces, I am not happy with most of the lighthouse --everything above the bottom piece. No matter how I arrange those pieces, it ends up looking like the Leaning Tower of Pisa or the house from my childhood storybook about "there was a crooked man who lived in a crooked house. . ." To be really happy with it I am going to start over and re-cut most of the lighthouse.

Most of my beautiful white aspen has a yellow patina now that it has been sitting and some of my blue pine looks rather gray. A quick touch on the sander should fix that.

I even glued in a piece of rope in the bottom right hand corner of the frame to show what I would like the whole frame to look like.

--2-14-10
The cutting and shaping are pretty much done. Some of the pieces need to be re-sanded to get their color back after sitting for so long. For example, the big clouds will whiten up again once I hit them with some sandpaper. I will also probably tweak a few of the shims/shaping areas such as the rocks.

Then on to a new frame and background. The background will be lighter than what is shown (probably Baltic birch). I don't have any wood wide enough for the arch of the frame so I will need to buy some. Now sure what I'll end up with there. I'm shooting for a medium to dark wood to contrast the white rope.

--2-21-10--
This last week I was able to shim, tweak the shaping, re-sand and apply a single finish to the picture pieces so that the finished color shines through. I glued many of the pieces together so I now have large sections to work with rather than so many tiny pieces. All that is left is to make a new frame and backer board. That will have to wait till I can go wood shopping next week. The rain this weekend has prevented be from getting a decent picture.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Our Best Wishes Travel With You

I took another break from my big project (will I ever finish it ??) to make a retirement plaque for one of my colleagues at the airline. This is my original design using maple, walnut, bloodwood, aspen and basswood. It measures 9 X 11 inches. I was daring and went backless for the first time.

Monday, September 7, 2009

A "Challenging" Break This Afternoon


I took a break from the lighthouse project to participate in an intarsia/segmentation challenge posted by one of the group members of the intarsia/segmentation discussion board I belong to. Basically, the challenge is for everyone to take the same pattern and make the piece. How different people interpret the same pattern is the most enjoyable outcome. This particular challenge is a toucan.

Of the pieces already completed, most everyone else has chosen the segmentation-paint approach. Segmentation differs from intarsia in that a segmentation piece is cut apart (segmented) from one piece of wood then each piece is stained or painted individually. Intarsia is cut from different kinds of wood—each a different color. No stains or paints are used in most intarsia. Some intarsia artists choose to add stain from time to time to achieve colors that are not found in natural wood.

I have nothing against segmentation—it is an art form in itself. The shaping is the same, whether segmentation or intarsia. It just doesn’t appeal to me as an artist. The fit is always flawless (since it is all cut from the same piece of wood) and the colors are whatever stain or paint you use. I like the challenge of fitting different cuts together and relying on natural wood colors for my palette. I also think that orienting the grain in different directions gives the piece more appeal. Of course, most of my intarsia pieces have elements of segmentation in them. When the color and grain direction of adjoining pieces are the same, I cut them from one piece of wood and segment them before shaping.

I chose to remain true to my artistic vision and remain in the “no stain/no paint” zone for my toucan. This meant a trade off, knowing that I could never get the bright blue eyelid others achieved. I got as close as nature would allow by using blue pine but it turned out more gray than blue—oh well, call it “artistic interpretation” ;). The left side of the walnut had a light streak in it that I didn’t realize was there until I started shaping. I decided it wasn’t worth re-cutting since this project was just for fun—more artistic interpretation :).

I also decided to use only wood scrap I had on hand. If I had my pick of any wood, I would have used wenge or ebony for the body and tail feathers, both kinds of wood are much darker and closer to the black color called for. As it turned out, I had just a small piece of wenge on hand and no ebony. So the wenge went into making the pupil of the eye (with an aspen highlight) and the body became walnut. The feet, which I would have made out of walnut (if I had wenge for the body) ended up being out of mahogany. I also would have used padauk for the beak, instead of the satinwood. The yellow around the eye is satinwood and the white is aspen.

If I were making this for someone else, I would probably re-cut a few of the pieces, but my goal was to knock it out this afternoon while I had a day off. It was fun to take a break from my big lighthouse project. Now I’m ready to get back to it.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Lighthouse/Weatherglass

Extra hours at the office means, among other things, less time in the shop. The lighthouse weatherglass project is taking longer than I like but it is progressing. I can’t believe I started this back in June. I am almost finished with the cutting and fitting. Here is a progress picture. Since the pieces are not attached in any way, the weatherglass is lying on its back. It makes the liquid spread-out, but at least you can see its shape.

Cutting is my least favorite part of the process. It gets tedious and I’m not as good at it as I would like to be. My real joy comes in shaping and bringing the wood to life! Almost to the point where I can do that!
I need to get the frame finished first so I can do the final trim fitting, then I can move on to the shaping—my reward for all that tedious cutting! I plan on using the router and rabbeting bit to allow the backer to fit in the fame flush to the back. I am also planning on routing a 3/8 inch groove all the way around in the front of the frame and inlaying a piece of rope.

The dark clouds are really lighter in color than they appear in the picture. The wood has darkened on the surface but once I start shaping, they will lighten up.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Under Construction

Some recent changes in Internet Explorer have made the links on my website obsolete. None of them were working. I have been thinking about redoing my website anyway so this is as good excuse as any. The website will be down for a week or two while I create the new and improved website. One of my goals is to make it easier to update. I was not updating as often as I would have liked because the previous software I was using required me to upload every page and every image each time I wanted to update just one page.

So be patient and stay tuned for an improved web site. Meanwhile, I have added a slide show of some of my work on the right hand side of this page.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

This One Stays Home

Every piece of intarsia I have made, except for one, I have either given away as a gift or sold as a commission. The only one I have kept was the class project when I took a class from Judy Gail Roberts about three years ago and I keep that one at work. So I decided it was time to make something for our own house. A couple of years ago, we went on vacation to Virginia and a gift shop in Yorktown had reproduction weather glasses. They are a blown glass barometer that was used in the 17th and 18th century. They had them mounted on a simple wooden plaque. In talking to the shop owner, I found out that they also sold the glass part and the brass plate without the wood, in case woodworkers wanted to make their own base. I bought the glass/brass parts, knowing someday I wanted to incorporate them into an intarsia piece. They have been in a box on my shelf for two years.

I also have had laying around (for who knows how long) a lighthouse pattern by Bruce Worthington. The time has come to marry the two. I have laid out my design which will fit within a frame and incorporate both the weather glass and the lighthouse picture. The top of the frame will be arched. I'll try and get some pictures out as I work. So far, I have cut out the frame and a couple of the pieces on the scene. One reason I hadn't done this piece in the past was because I knew I wanted spalted pine (blue pine) for the water but couldn't find a source for it. After digging around the internet, I was able to find a supplier. I got a couple of pieces that are beautiful and they were quite reasonable in price.

In this picture I have cut out the frame and a little bit of the water.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

A Big Step

Update --- Oct 24 --- I received word that my application wasn't accepted. kind of a relief since I haven't had time to build up any stock. I will try another show another time. . . .

~~~~~~

Well, I did it. I registered for my first art show! It was a bit intimidating and I hope I am accepted. Time to make the sawdust fly just in case. Details of the show are below:
DECEMBER 12, 2009
BOOTHS OPEN FROM 10 AM TO 5 PM

The annual Holiday Art & Musical Festival will feature original works of art for sale by several local and regional artists, live entertainment showcasing local talent on two stages, artist demonstrations in Glassblowing, Metals and Ceramics, children's activities, and a variety of food from featured local restaurants. Come to Mesa Arts Center to kick off the holiday season at this fun-filled community festival! Admission is free to the public.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Comedy and Tragedy

This is the piece I finished this week based on an original design by Christina & Wayne Prinn. Twenty-five pieces of wood were cut, shaped, and fitted together to create this artwork. The wood varieties used in this piece are North American aspen, East Indian satin wood (yellow heart), South American purple heart, South African bloodwood, and North American walnut.


Comedy and tragedy masks are sometimes referred to as theatre masks or drama masks. They have been adopted as the universal symbol for theatre. The origins stem from ancient Greece when actors always wore masks on stage.

I put two hangers on this piece so it can be hung to emphasize comedy (above) or tragedy (right).

Sunday, May 3, 2009

What is Intarsia?


Intarsia is defined as a mosaic of fitted pieces of wood or stone. Some experts believe it originated in the Islamic world, while others claim Egyptian origins. As a distinct art form, it dates back to the 13th century in Italy and was perfected during the 15th century Italian Renaissance in Siena and in northern Italy. It spread to German centers and introduced into London by Flemish craftsmen in the later 16th century. By the late 17th century, the intarsia art form had just about disappeared, replaced by marquetry, a similar process which inlays thin veneers of wood together. The intarsia art form of fitting thicker pieces of wood was revived in the late 20th century.



Modern intarsia has added a third dimension to its predecessor. In renaissance-era intarsia, pieces were flat. In modern intarsia, individual pieces are shaped to give a three-dimensional look to the overall piece. Unlike segmentation, in which all pieces are cut from the same wood and then painted or stained, intarsia relies solely on the natural colors of the wood to create a palette. No stains or dyes have been used on any of my pieces, only a clear polyurethane finish (more about that in a future post).

The Beginning

A blog has to begin somewhere, right? Well here we are. I have had a website up for a while now to share some of my artwork. But keeping a website up to date is a little more than I can handle right now, so I thought a blog would be a perfect way to keep up.

This blog will be about my experiences in creating intarsia art pieces. I discovered intarsia about ten years ago and it has become a permanent part of my life.