Duck Blind January 22 to Febuary 28 2010

 

The 47th Annual Tom Thomson Art Gallery Juried Exhibition Convergence has selected my work.

 

Owen was pretty happy to get his Bedside table delivered

The boy likes being organized

A Pittance of Time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlrrAWCTRg

Owens bedside table " Its getting closser"

Finally had time to get working on this one too, 
I made metal pads to hold on the door knobs to the cabinet today..
Old glass door knobs remind me of my Grandmother.
Mitered  drawer fronts, dovetailed drawers, that's just part of my day, its a good job.

I hope to clear coat it all tomorrow.

New work from the bench

I finally got some time to clean up work on my bench.

 Here are some process images..I hope to have furniture home by the end of next week..now how to make it all happen

I will keep you posted on how that goes.

TUTD

I found this app ..its a Texting Dictionary  "The Ultimate Texting Dictionary"

YGLTUTD! (You're going to love the ultimate texting dictionary!)

Do people really buy this one? They say it is the ultimate resource.

texting

My new focus is on Texting. I am intrigued by this medium of communication...The more people I tell about this exploration the more I hear the phrase I hate texting, when I ask why the response I get is “all those stupid abbreviations.” The more I look into this Idea the more I realize that this is not a new medium for communication but one that is rooted much deeper.

Though I am interested in texts like ROTFLMAO (rolling on the floor laughing my*** off) I am more interested in where it all started. This is my attempt to bridge the gap between modern day texting and short form, as it was once called when my mother learned to use short hand as a secretary in the 60ies.

Stumpy

I just had to post this image.

Stumpy

This is the second in the line of stump pieces.

The orange stump blew apart while it was drying...
With this new yellow piece I have let in dovetail keys to keep the checks in balance.
I think that they add a certain element of contrast to the whole idea that I am reconstructing a tree.
We often lose sight of where the wood we use comes from when we and make furniture.
The end user sometimes does not consider the wood used but refers only to a certain color of stain that they associate with a particular wood.I think that this idea can use some more exploration.
I will keep you posted; I have more trees to put back together.

From The bench

New work from my bench

I have had this idea for some time to reconstruct logs into seating, small stools, benches or even side tables.

This is the first go. The cast aluminum legs are from another piece that I was unhappy with. I thought that they looked good on this stump.

I am working on a red stump and an acid yellow stump as well. I rescued plastic legs from a dumpster near the studio for the yellow stump. The red job will get legs made of wood. I have not really worked out the fine details yet.

I hope to have more images of this project soon.

I think that this idea is worth exploring further.

Owens Side Table

Owens Side Table is glued up

Here is an image of the case for O’s Bedside table. I still need to cut drawers and fit them. I hope to have time this week to work on that part.
I just picked up a Uni Saw that I am installing in a shop space next door. A Lee Valley bench that I got at the same time made its way to the Studio. It’s nice to have another rock solid work surface.

I Have Been Collecting

I have been collecting lots and lots of used laundry detergent bottles.

This is yet another idea in my recycling /re purposing train of thought.
The idea was to use the plastic from the laundry detergent bottles to make a large floor piece that glowed .
I plan on putting some lights in it and propping it up from the inside with threaded rods
I really wanted to have it made to put in a show with John Roberts a WhiteStone Gallery member but collecting the plastic has proven to be harder than I thought.So I had to back out of the show.
I do have a start to the project , I have made a 3’X3‘ semi cupped shape, It could be a wall piece, but I really want to continue collecting to make it sit on the floor.

Mock Up For Owen

Here is the mock up for Owens bedside table.

Since it will be made of old doors, I thought that it would be nice to us
the glass knobs as feet; it’s the self referential thing,
The back leg detail is from an old piece of furniture I saw in Montreal by the side of the road in the 80ies.
It was a small dresser if I remember correctly, I wish now that I would have put it in the back of my truck and brought it home.
When saw it, I thought to myself that it was a very inventive way to make a back foot. They had used the side of the piece to create a foot.
At the time I was still in University working on my Fine Art Degree so I never thought that this design element would make its way into my vocabulary as a furniture designer maker.
I do not know if it is a Canadian design detail but I will assume that it is and quote the source as such.
I have since glued up the Bed Side Table. The inside and exposed edges are painted black. The rest of the carcass is mitred so that the finish that was on the doors originally wraps around the exterior surface.
It looks like a patch work quilt.
When there is a bit of down time in the studio, I will make a jig to cut out the back feet.
Right now I am working on panels and frames for shows that are coming up next month.

The View From My Bench

Repurposed Wood

Here is a piece that I was working on just before I moved to the Studio.

I repurposed some wood for this stool and also found a home for a sign that I have been carrying around for quite some time.

I also have a low stool that follows the same design principal of repurposed wood. Sadie has claimed that one for her bedroom.

The idea with this line of products is that furniture need not be made of the most expensive exotic hard woods to be considered furniture,I hope that good design can overcome what some may feel is a short fall when it comes to material choise.

I have seen rocking chairs made of hockey sticks and cottage deck chairs made from some water skis that looked really amazing.

I will keep exploring this idea and keep you posted. Next on the list is a bedside table for Owen my son. It will be made of old doors that I have resawn . I will try to post images soon.

A W O L

I have been busy these days working on some new ideas around texting as a language.

After some research I found out that it is really not new nor is it an easy thing to do (invent a new language as it were)

Texting or abbreviations go way back to the war era and even further M I A (missing in action) R I P (Rest in Peace) AWOL (Absent Without Leave)

My work is about the use of language as much as it is in a way a record of how people use language. People often say that texting is breaking down language but it is I feel making language stronger.

I have settled in to my new shop and really enjoy going to work there; I have started to produce Frames and painting panels for some of Guelph’s local artist.

March First and a New Studio

For the past few days I have been moving into my new shop space. The Shop/Studio is run by Adrian Ferrazzutti. I was put in touch with him via a fellow furniture maker who works at Sheridan College.
The Studio is at best a 20min bike ride from home. I just need to wait for warmer dryer weather.
I have a 16X16 space in a 3000sq foot shop. I share major tools with the four full time guys, there are a few space mates who seem to have just dropped stuff off in their space but have not really set it up yet.
I am pretty happy to be in this space it’s been a long time coming, it means that I can now start building all the out for reach ideas that were not do able in my garage shop space.
I am going to go in tomorrow to paint a small partition that Adrian wanted me to put up between my space and the special effects guy in the back corner, I do not really understand why it was needed but I thought that going in and helping out would further my inroads with the group . In reality I did not need to do this because everyone there is really nice to the new guy.

Marks comes through with a treasure trove

We had a late lunch at our friend Mark and Alison’s place in Burlington. It was a wonderful afternoon spent catching up on how our children had grown and what we had been doing since we last got together at our place in the summer.

I have to tell you that both Ali and Mark are top notch crafts people in their respective fields. Ali works with glass as her main medium and Mark is one of the best woodworkers that I know. On another note, Mark has a tool collection that would make most grown men drool. Well, Mark and I got talking about what we were both working on and when it came to my turn, I told Mark that I was finding it hard to find material that I could use if my recycled pieces.

Now Mark being the stand up guy that he is, said.... Hey I have scrap coming out of my yang yang. Feel free to take whatever you need. Let me tell you he has enough material to keep someone like me happy for quite some time. With Marks help I filled my van that day and I had to make room for Jen and the kids so that we could all drive home together.

Let’s hope good things come from the visit / scrap wood grab and all.

I am still looking for a good table saw, but for now it can wait, After all I will be in a shop with a few cabinet makers’ saws, and I just need a Junker to break out scrap material on.
Mark and I have made a pact for me to come out to his place to help with a second floor walnut floor installition and shop clean out with the intention that I can bring home more wood.
Just when I thought that I could not continue with this idea I come across more material.

New Start

I have been quite busy of late. A recent trip into Toronto to see a friend’s show in December sparked my imagination. I drove home with a plan. It was time to 2 jump start my career, what I needed to do was get a shop and work with likeminded people. The second thing that was needed was to find locations in Guelph and the surrounding area to show my work. I also needed to get working my portfolio it was looking a little dated.

One day I was chatting with my neighbour asking her about shop space. She told me that her son was moving out of her Garage shop and that I could move in my tools and set up the shop as I saw fit, in return I would sharpen tools and help her with her woodworking questions, she is a very accomplished wood turner.

It did not take long for me to get my tools moved and set up. I was pretty happy given that I cannot get into my garage if you can call it that. In the winter the door which is already cut on a rakish angle jambs on the pavement when it opens 6 inches. I am quite a bit wider in the mid section than that. Think you can fill in the rest.

As you have probably all ready gathered, I enjoy working with recycled/repurposed material. I think that my father’s experience of livening through the depression taught me in a roundabout way that all materials are precious, and that working with ones hands is a very rewarding experience in its self.

Armed with a new idea, I pulled out all my recycled material and made two new pieces. One is called stacked (for now anyways) the other is well I do not have a name for it, let’s call it vertical. I milled all my material to a uniform thickness and stacked it together to form a cube 14X 14 X 16 tall end grain, painted material, recycled doors whatever wood I had on hand got stacked to make the piece. I am pretty happy with the outcome it speaks to me on many levels ,but it mostly says that furnishings need not be precious and made from the most exotic and rare woods to be worthy to be called fine craft.

For the other piece, I employed the same premise but arranged the material vertically. They are both born of the same idea but to me speak a slightly different language.

While I was working on these new ideas I joined an art collective called the White Stone Gallery. There is one other furniture make there but the majority of the 18 members are painters. This suits me fine because I can hang work and show floor pieces as well. It’s been good to paint and draw again as well. I have made new friends and feel that this direction is a good fit.