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.