Hello! It’s a photo essay week—more photos, less words. My updates from the last couple of weeks are pretty well captured below.
I hope you’re doing well and enjoying some minute details in your own life!
Marquetry
A few weeks ago I traveled up north again for a weekend retreat with Mark Laub. Three other woodworkers hunched over their scroll saws and hand tools alongside me as we spent a day practicing marquetry. The image of swallows that Mark had drawn reminded me of freedom. (I imagine it evokes terror in my partner, Josiah, a man with a deep distrust of birds likely due to their dinosaurian ancestors and all the times he’s been attacked by them.)
Mark told us that marquetry is a dying art. I can understand why—I spent a day making that little image. It was tedious and time consuming. Or, from a different perspective, engrossing and deeply mindful. Someday I’ll be an old woman clutching my scroll saw and growling at anyone who dares trying to convince me to replace it with a CNC machine.
Inlay
On the second day of the retreat, we practiced inlay. I finally broke into my three-ounce stash of mother of pearl and abalone. My fingers shook with nerves as I began cutting the dragonfly wings with a fret saw.
Mark made us each a small piece of wood to practice on; Ebony on one side and Sapele on the other. I chose to work in Sapele because it was softer and more forgiving. I’ll probably attempt something on the Ebony over the winter break.
Lots of my work up to now has been making bigger pieces, from tables to beds to dressers. As always, the work comes down to the details. Learning how to inlay has opened up a new world of details for me.
Probably should mention that none of this makes my work more profitable; perhaps in time it will? Future Taliesin will have to let you know.
Mini Charcuterie
I mentioned the small charcuterie boards I’ve been playing around with. On my second one I thought the humped crack looked like the back of a turtle. I filled it with slivers of Maple, then inlaid sterling silver to make the bottom and legs. Given the pace of my work, it seems fitting my first design was a turtle.
Coat racks
Hook production continues. I have holes pre-drilled in several boards for coat racks and am waiting on the hardware for hanging them (which will have to be inlaid into the back of each) before installing the hooks. The barn cats warily watched my progress. They didn’t seem impressed.
Small bowl
My youngest kid helped me make a small bowl on my scroll saw. She did the design for the bottom, burning the vine into the pieces, and then helped me glue it up. This was just a test to see if the bowl turned out okay. I think I’ll make a few of these to go with some of the boards.
That’s all for this week. Have a great weekend!