New Beginnings

I can tell when I've been delinquent in my blog posting when calls start coming in checking on my health! Honest, I'm fine, but the past few weeks have been a whirlwind. I am proud to announce that my chairs are now on display at The Matthew Solomon Gallery in Narrowsburg, New York



It's taken some effort, on top of my production and teaching schedule, to get the new space up and running. Matthew Solomon is a friend of mine and a brilliant ceramic artist. We are both excited about the new venture.

Below is a picture of another exciting beginning. I was surveying my property for a cherry tree to cut down for some new chairs, and found this nice straight one that seems to have some sort of disease. I chopped through the gummy excretions and the sap wood to find the heart still perfect. Lucky timing! I love it when the tree provides a good reason for the timing of its cutting.



Also lucky for me, is that I had a gorgeous fall day and two friends to help me mill the tree up. Here is Rich Pallaria (on the left) and Don Scott. I couldn't ask for two better helpers or company in the woods on a crisp fall day. Cherry doesn't like to split nicely, and I hate to waste good wood, so I've taken to milling it into 2 inch thick boards that give me the choice of creating turnings or perhaps seats.



Here we are milling the trunk. It is slow going but for chairs, the technology fits the bill. I'd hate to be milling 1 inch stock, because of the waste of the kerf and the time consumption, but for chairs, I get plenty of wood for the effort.




Here is the resulting lumber, stacked in my new shed addition (the roof will go on next week, I hope). I placed the drill to give a sense of scale. This is wood that would fetch a premium at the lumber dealer, and I feel lucky to have it plentiful and free on my property, then again, have you seen my tax bills!