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.

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. . . .

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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.

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).

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.