Art Samples For MAK
Hog Island Oysters' Tables
Four, 9' x 3' 2.5" thick cypress tables with Elm Saw horse bases. 
Elm and Pepperwood Credenza
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About a year ago I heard from a friend that her pepper tree had died in her backyard and that she and her husband wanted to do something with the wood. I sent over an arborist who cut the tree into slabs, they were placed under their house to dry, and I explained that it takes about a year for every inch of thickness to dry, so we would have to wait awhile to make a table. I also told them about some experiments I’d been doing, allowing wet wood to warp and deform as it’s inherent tension would create, and using those odd elements in traditional furniture. They were all for it. The materials of this piece are Pepper Wood, Elm, Ebony and Epoxy.
Elm and Cypress Open Corner Hutch
This tiny Kitchen was short on storage and had a 112º angle that made previous shelving ineficient and awkward. This hutch fits to the back of the wall to allow for mixers and blenders below, and the three sizes of mason jars, cups and plates above.
Autodesk Residency Bookshelf
This bookshelf is for the room set aside from computers, laser cutters and CNC routers within Autodesk's Artist In Residence program. I was asked to create something to showcase objects of inspiration, in a room for relaxation and contemplation. Instead of making the piece smaller so that the room's light switch remained outside of the shelving, this piece creates the space for interaction and invitation, an opening where a person will put their hand between the assemblage of pillars each time they enter or leave the room. The goal was to create a relationship between the resident makers and the structures which support objects of contemplation. It is about creating a space for history while embracing the act of shedding light, and, conserving energy.
Elm Slices
Elm Slices are thinly cut, 16' x 2' x 1/4" pieces of wood with a burlap backing that can stand against a wall, fit in the corner of a room or hang from the ceiling. They are lightweight, solid and easily affixed to any surface. Cut from wet, newly salvaged urban trees, each slice is allowed to change shape as it dries, taking a shape that woodworkers normally try to to avoid. To build the angular stuff that becomes furniture we do everything we can to make and keep wood straight and flat, but these are different.
Each tree's unique reaction to the subtleties of it's habitat, the changing directions of grain that come from forces exerted by branches, or a slope, or wind direction create varying densities and internal tensions, and have the potential unfurl a flat piece of freshly cut wood into a dynamic, warping plane that tells a story of topography, like landscapes created by geologic time that are an alternative to the map like information of a board. Ideally, these pieces show an aspect of time that goes beyond the counting of rings, and the marks and coloring of a two dimensional surface. I hope they show the third and forth dimensions of wood's honest transformation, from living thing, to record of life, when left to it's own resources and unrestricted by the weight of the lumberyard and the heat of the kiln.
Bryant St. Exterior
Floating Cypress Shelves
Cypress shelves inlaid with olive wood
Reception Desk and Hexagonal Tables for Tradeshift
Walnut Reception Desk
Cypress Stairs and Floor
Tables and Islands for Interior Design Fair
One of my favorite clients is Interior Design Fair. These are a just a few of the pieces made for them, before they are taken to their client's home's and businesses.
Side Table for Sim Van der Ryn
Sim Van der Ryn asked me to build him a side table out of a giant piece of live edge edge cypress for his home in Inverness. We went to my woodpile where he picked out the pieces, and I built it to his specifications. It was an honor to make something for such an incredible thinker and maker.
George and Hannah's Table
I made this table for two friends and wrote the story of where the wood came from on the bottom. It is acacia and padouk.
Walnut and Steel Credenza
This walnut and steel credenza was made for Rhodium Group, a consulting firm that specializes in market and policy research related to climate change. I suggested a graphic of CO2 emissions to illustrate the scale of the emergency. The graph is from 1800 to 2013. The patina on the steel top and sides is an imaginary landscape that is only visible while standing directly above or in front of it. From a distance it disappears.
Local Mission Market
White oak food bins for Local Mission Market. 
Elm Sawhorse Table
This post is about the the making of an elm sawhorse table. Tonight I had some time to start a table made from the elm I milled last year. It was one 2.5" thick slab that I split down in half to make 1" thick pieces. I think the legs will be saw horses again, but since this table is for fun, the legs could be anything.
As a material, Elm is unlike anything else I've worked with. It's incredibly strong, easy to carve and shape, but not brittle or dense. Most if all it's beautiful. So far it's my favorite wood.
I got back to working on the sawhorses that will be the base of this table this week. The legs tilt out and and away at 7 degrees. I like this better than the 15 degree sawhorses I made last year which had a larger footprint and were not any more rigid than these.
Paintings
Acacia Saw Horse Table
