Four, 9' x 3' 2.5" thick cypress tables with Elm Saw horse bases.
Four, 9' x 3' 2.5" thick cypress tables with Elm Saw horse bases.
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.
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.
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.
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.