woodwork # 2  

That's
a quite impressive group of work. The unusual layered carving of the Duncan Gowdy pieces is quite nice, and quite original, isn't it ?
To take just one piece and discuss its design, the James Schriber elliptical extension table (near the bottom) raises a problem I've grappled with before: how do you handle the addition of leaves into the middle of an already complete form (the ellipse) without damaging that perfect form. This example represents the usual and obvious solution -- just bridge the gap with a rectangle. A comparable example is the manufacture of a stretch limo from a standard sedan. It's far easier and simpler to just insert an "extrusion" of the profile at the cut-line. Unfortunately, the stretched ellipse, even more than the stretched sedan, looks weak in the middle as a result.
After looking at this image, I'm convinced that a better solution would be either a) to have the complete table with leaves make the ellipse, and let the "shortened" version have a slight peak at the middle of each long side -- or b) give the leaves their own slight bulge, making a "lobe" in the center of each side. Either of these solutions will have the advantage of appearing complete, heavier in the middle -- especially important when the base is a central pedestal, as in this example. I can't say I've seen either of these (possibly counter-intuitive) solutions in practice.
Thanks for the great show !

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its more of an oblong than an elipse I think, Elipses good, oblongs bad. The extended top looks cheap (like a commercial particleboard office table), the base is lovely and I think he should have foregone the extension in favour of making a fixed top which echoed the shape of the base.
Looking closely I think the carved cabinets above are cnc cut. Not sure how I feel about that. I have seen some very good carving done through a laminated board of 3 different woods, it takes a lot of skill to pull that sort of thing off.
The 'about' page on the site is a good read about the history of US studio furniture.

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The cabinets at top remind me of these Perriand/Prouve ones, anyone at home with a few boards of ash or birch and a small router and handsaw could make something similar to the Gowdy cabinets, horizontal would be good. Breuer designed some similar long wall mounted sideboards.
Painted or otherwise finished 1/4 sliding plywood doors with a finger hole would work for the doors.
They look good, are strong, almost fool proof to make with a little skill. I want some!
It beats paying Vitra 10k for a sideboard.

Interesting stuff--
Highlights for me are the Duncan Gowdy cabinets (particularly the first pair), John Eric Byers magazine tables, and the Fran Taubman glass coffee table.
Even the things that aren't quite my cup of tea are undeniably impressive for their craftsmanship.

yes I wish more people would ...
yes I wish more people would buy this sort of work, its better than throwing money at FH, Vitra etc etc, could be buying the next Nakashima and make a lot more filthy lucre in the long run.

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Nice stuff, I appreciate workmanship and quality but this stuff isn't really my style. Beautiful though. Well, I did find a few of my favorite things. 😀
ANDY BUCK
Oval Table
White Oak, carved, painted, lacquered;
Base of Cocobolo
Square Bar Table by FRAN TAUBMAN
Steel, Japanese brown patina, glass.

That
Fran Taubman table is rich.
I love the Perriand wall units. They would be fun to make.
I don't really
see the point of criticizing a vertical wall cabinet because it isn't horizontal, or an extension table because it ought not extend. The function is presumably a given with anything made to serve a purpose (no matter its art content), don't you think ? (. . or don't you !" to quote an old SNL bit. . .) The challenge is to satisfy the functional requirements handsomely ? (Of course, a table has a better chance of looking swell if it doesn't also have to adjust, I'll grant you that.)
Judy McKee is someone I watch because she's a fellow RISD alum (her husband Todd was in my class; he made an interesting laminated chair there. I wonder what happened to him. . .) Her work has usually included animal imagery.
Jere Osgood must be ancient. He's one of the pioneer "California craft movement" woodworkers. There's a hotel in Cloverdale, CA with a front-room bar in maple that he did -- soft edges, inlaid squares of green glass, vaguely Japanesque. . .

The
Gowdy carving could be CNC, of course, but I can imagine it being done by hand, too. There are simple ways to control cutting depth, of course, leaving the operator to free-hand the edge shapes (which I don't necessarily understand in the first pair ). The delicate botanical etching though seems like it would want to be CNC work.
On second thought, the variable depth of all that carving makes it likely that a CNC machine was used. . .
Gilpin and Philbrick have been around a long time, too. And how about that chair by Hucker ? I guess I like the cabinet by Rich Tannen as well.

no no vertical is fine, it...
no no vertical is fine, it wasn't a criticism of them, I like them very much. Just saying horizontal would be good too, and add a little bit more storage surface.
The tabletop looked too regular compared to the base when its leaves were out, I have bad memories of assembling particle board monstrosities of the same shape.

Yeah.
I do like that oval slatted table base. Bubinga ? That stuff is HARD !
The wall-hung vertical cabinet with (naturally-decorated) door(s) on knife hinges seems to come directly from James Krenov. Nobody talks about him anymore, but for quite a time he had a big influence on a large group of wood-crafters. . .

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I've got 2 books on Krenov, the cabinets themselves don't excite me too much but their proportions do.
Bubinga hard? My background is Zimbabwean and the grandparents all had Bubinga furniture, was lovely but a lot of it was damaged being shipped back to the UK in the 80's.
This rosewood is frightening, I'm glad I've finished running it over the bench plane. it just kept wanting to kickback.

About the cabinets, etc.
This is Duncan Gowdy. Thank you for your comments about the pair of wall cabinets.
The doors are hand carved. The door is about 7/8" thick solid ash. There is a detail photograph of the carving on the door on the Pritam and Eames website. The tool marks and subtle shaping are visible.
I can understand your comments of the use of a CNC to obtain the image. If I were to make a production of the cabinets, I might consider using the technology. However, I make one-of-a kind pieces. I enjoy using the gouges, hand tools, and basic traditional woodworking machinery
I have been carving my furniture since 1991, when I took my first woodworking class. I inherited my grandfathers set of gouges at that time, and have been using them since.
The vertical format of the cabinets was new for me. The composition fit the image that I wanted to have on the doors. The image is of a brook in the winter; the white is the snow, grey is the ice, and black is the visible water. I was standing on a bridge when I took some photographs, so one cabinet is upstream, the other is downstream.
I started making the work for my show at Pritam and Eames last October. Mid-way though production I read a few Krenov books. So yes, I was able to learn from the readings.
There is amazing work at Pritam and Eames. Most of the furniture makers represented were students of Jere Osgood, Alphonse Mattia, and James Krenov. I was a student of Alphonse Mattia, and then Wendy Maruyama, who was a student of Alphonse and Jere.
http://www.duncangowdy.com

Thanks
for the reply, Mr Gowdy. I'm glad you were able to find us. It's quite nice to know of the source of the imagery, and the technique used, on your wall pieces.
I greatly admire the design and the decoration of your other work, as well. I too admire ash, and find it too little used (despite an attractive price, in recent years) relative to the more popular American hardwoods.
Too bad for me that I live now on the West Coast -- I would like the excuse to visit the Hamptons and see the gallery's wares in person. Welcome to the (international) Design Addict community !
Stephen Ritchings

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Thanks from here too, its great to add something a little different to the DA mix, much appreciatted.