Saw the screening for this very well done and inspiring documentary. I don't think the majority of us Yanks can even imagine the carnage that happened or how it could happen in Rwanda (Burundi as well but that is a different story).
What is even more amazing is the grace, and forgiveness, and hope that has sprung from and covered such a dark event.
My favorite stories are those about redemption and grace and the success of the heart. "Rising From The Ashes" is no exception.
Maybe that is why I like to make furniture from wood that is usually rejected or overlooked.
CustomMade.com has just featured a Hope Chest that I made as a graduation gift for my daughter. I call this piece "Launched". They are promoting various ideas for Graduation gifts from jewelry to furniture. At their site you will find many very cool things made by very talented artists.
I believe the next thing I'll be making for my daughter's college graduation is a workbench for her jewelry making and design. Maybe it should be called "Landed" Which brings me to an interesting discussion about perfection, and quality, and value and...I think my dad (a brick and stone mason) said it best, You've got to know the difference between when your laying brick on the ally side and when your working on the store front.
You can do the fine work in the "ally" but it is a waste of good talent, time and money. My daughter's work bench will be strong and functional. It will be made mostly of the lumber from the trees that grew here on the home of her youth. But it will not be a highly refined and decorative piece of "functional art". It shouldn't be, as it will exist in the "ally" for working... not in the "store front" for flash.
Scroll down towards the bottom of this link at Custom Made.
Water and wood are not great friends unless you’re a classic boat, and old wood waterline or awhiskey barrel. All of the latter need water to swell the wood to help it perform it's job of either containing or keeping out the water. Furniture, on the other hand, is not in that group. Wood is a dynamic material that moves as the climate changes so it is important to keep the climate fairly consistent. Fine furniture should be constructed in such a way, that when there is a change in climate, the effect is not damaging to the piece. Also, depending on the finish and the hardness of the wood, one must be careful with impacting the surfaces (ie dropping silverware etc.). Among the softer of the common hardwoods used for furniture are, mahogany, walnut, cherry and soft maple. Hickory, pecan, sugar maple, white oak and to a lesser extent red oak are the harder of the bunch.Oh yes, and direct sunlight is also an enemy to fine furniture. It will fade the rich colors of the darker woods.
Here is a little slide show of a church pulpit I built about 5 years ago. It is finished with numerous coats of an oil/varnish concoction and then waxed. By the way you can see it at a great church with very sound teaching called Calvary Worship Center, Pastor Al Pitman. http://mydwellingplace.org/about/al_pittman.htm
Sometimes you have a day that ends up with "what if..." . What if the computer worked correctly, or the spray hose wasn't clogged up and needed cleaning head to toe, and the widebelt sander didn't have that incontinence problem, and the house we want to fix up wasn't bound up in a VA loan..
But then, in the big scheme of things... along comes Easter which reminds me of the rest of the story.
So, the frustrations of the day pale away and remembering Passion Week takes precedence; and peace once again can take its place.
Seems like forever since I did any writing but here goes.
The Scottsdale Art Festival was quite extraordinary. The weather, the venue, the patrons, and most of allthe artists and their art. We will be back next year, assuming they'll have us.
While in Scottsdale, a good friend of mine told me a story (an account actually) that like most he tells was well worth the listening. It was a tender story of fear and courage and love. A bit lengthy for a blog. Sorry.
There was a dad who took his daughter on a weekend camp thing that was for the purpose of strengthening relationships and improving communication. One of the "bonding" activities included repelling down the face of a cliff which was far beyond high enough to kill you. Although there was a safety rope attached to each participant, you still had to have a bit of strength and coordination to do it right and keep from getting hurt. The real challenge of the repel however, was that after you backed down the face of the rock, you came to a point of no return…when your feet would leave the rock and you would be hanging free…over 300 feet from the ledge below. Ever looked down from 30 stories?
This dad was not in good physical shape. In fact he was over weight, weak and not long on lung capacity.
As well, he was afraid of heights. I'm talking "soil yourself" afraid of heights.
Several people had already repelled off the rock and the dad's daughter had gone before him. Now it was the dad's turn but I think he was thinking, "It's my time." rather that "It's my turn." Strapped in the waist harness, sweating profusely and shaking like a bowl of jelly, he backed over the precipice of the cliff. All the while his sweet daughter is yelling encouragement and cheering him on from the ledge far below. I can hear her, "Come on daddy, you can do this. Your doing great. Take your time it's OK. You're awesome (a descriptive he may have never heard in his life). You can do it!!!!!!"
Eventually the dad gets to the point of no return as he leans back over the edge and starts to lower himself down. But as he is leaning back, in fear, he inexplicably lets go of the rope and calls out the name of Jesus thinking he is about to fall to his death. But the safety rope tightened and the spotters slowly lowered him to everyone's cheers and claps. And the first person to greet him and embrace him was his daughter who showered him with love and praise for having the guts to even take that first step off the precipice.
It took tremendous courage to overcome his tremendous fear. Far more courage than those who were less afraid. In the eyes of some, guys like this are weenies, losers, chicken ... etc. but the truth is, he "took a bullet" for his daughter and I suspect this guy would do it for a friend. I often think it's a close line between our strengths and our weaknesses. Often our strengths become our weaknesses - and in this case, vice versa. His weakness became his strength. Don't we often miss that gem in people we know?
I once saw "15 minute Hamlet". As the title implies, it was a very condensed version of a very long play. So here is my version, showing how I made the End tables with Lamp. Hope you enjoy it. We will be at the Scottsdale Arts Festival for the show from March 9-11. Our booth is 136 so let any friends know we are here!
I was pleasantly surprised to hear from CustomMade.com that we were chosen as one of their top ten favorites just before Christmas! Scroll down through the other beautiful pieces to find my dresser "Took A Hit". CustomMade is a great website begun by one guy trying to promote the work of bespoke furniture makers in North America. It's now expanded considerably and includes jewellers, glass makers, and many others.
It's quite humbling to see the standard of workmanship out there; it reminds me of preparing for the show in Cody each year. I think - "yes, I like the piece I have created" and then I get there and see the incredible creativity and standard of work by my fellow woodworkers. That's why it's good to go to shows in my opinion - it reminds us that nothing is new under the sun! I'm getting ready for a show in March - the Scottsdale Arts Festival. I think my pieces will be different and unique - and yet, and yet... we shall see.
Here is a peek at the end tables I am making for Scottsdale. Not quite finished but three quarters of the way there. Today I'm working on the copper; you will have to wait and see what it's purpose will be!
P.S. CustomMade.com is an online marketplace that connects buyers of custom furrniture, decorative items and other products with the artisans who make them.
The price of a thing and the value of a thing are in my opinion, relatives but not siblings and certainly not identical twins. Like most people, I would like to pay two bucks for a bottle of nice Cabernet Sauvignon or two bucks a pound for well raised, fed and aged filet Mignon. But that isn't going to happen and it shouldn't. In the case of furniture (mine anyway) it's mostly simple arithmetic with the added original art component.
Let's say a large furniture manufacturer wants to produce a new and unique end table. The front end cost to get that end table to production is not insignificant. There is the designer or more likely a design team, the marketing team, probably an engineer, there is the making of a few prototypes, CNC (computerized machinery) programming, tooling, material purchasing and probably a few more things I have left out before the end tables even begins it's journey to being a finished product. I'm making an educated guess here, but that front end cost for a new end table might be in the neighborhood of $10,000 It should be, and most often is, a very well made piece of furniture but it won't cost you $10k. So here's where the very simple arithmetic (my favorite kind) comes in...if they make 10,000 end tables, that front end cost is a dollar per end table.
For those of us in the custom furniture making business, the process is similar. The main difference is that we usually wear all the hats and the front end cost isn't even close to that of a large manufacturer. To be sure, there is some front end cost (mostly in time spent) but the bulk of our cost is in the time and energy we spend "giving birth" to a new and unique piece of functional art. Look at this link - do you think the creator of this amazing piece was thinking about cost at this point or being creative? My guess is that he was thinking about a unique creation.
Finally another link to an article on the website CustomMade.com. I mostly agree with what they say, although I would add below a comment about Sam Maloof's rockers - his work was so admired as a work of art that its perceived value justified its cost.
"I would make one minor adjustment in the equation utility-price=value. This works fine for something utilitarian like toys, or even a basic table or desk that needs to fit a specific spot. But in high-end furniture, the equation clearly goes beyond just utility. Certainly a Maloof rocker did not provide tens of thousands of dollars of utility to its owner, but was so admired as a work of art that its perceived value justified its cost. While many custom inquiries are indeed based purely on utilitarian value, these ignores the importance of quality design, careful selection of materials and grain, and the artistic qualities a hand-crafted piece can exhibit. I don’t claim to be in the same universe as Sam Maloof, but I do strive to create beautiful things out of wood that I hope carry more value than just their usefulness as a table, box, or chair."
There are many facets to an artist, but one quality that most, if not all artists possess to some degree is in... in... insecurity. There! I've said it. Not that I want to admit it but it's true, if we're honest that is. So who wants to show that bit of dirty laundry? NO ONE! That's a character flaw for Pete's sake. So, we cover it up, or try to anyway.
It is 200 years ago today that Charles Dickens was born, and as a consequence there is much in the media celebrating his life and amazing writings. I heard Simon Callow, the actor and also biographer of a new book on Dickens, say today : '"Dickens' greatest fiction was his own character.....People think of him as a jolly chap ... but he was ... increasingly plagued with depression and a sense of hopelessness and despair. And that's worth knowing. I think it's always good to know that great creative individuals have their struggle, their drama." How well put. Or as writer friend said to me when I asked, "do you ever wonder if you're good enough?" and he answered, as he puffed on his pipe, "Ah yes, that is a question we really don't want to ask ourselves."
So then I think, perhaps it is the insecurity that drives us on in some way, to prove to ourselves that we do have a gift, but then we try to take it back as if we were the source, rather than what it is, a gift.
