Working away from the shop

As mentioned in some other posts, I have a side work activity doing tree removals.  I live in an area where a large portion of land is forested, mostly Pine woods.   Most of the removals are around homes in the wooded areas, but sometimes also at a city location, very diverse places really, one of the reasons that I enjoy it.  Seeing some areas that I normally wouldn't get the opportunity to visit and often speaking with the residents there, working with some pleasant and highly skilled people, the challenges of the heavy work, all things that add up to a nice sometimes change from being by myself in my workshop.  Still working with wood, with a totally different goal, makes for a good contrast from the rather finely detailed aspects of furniture making, and at the end of a work day, the amount of accomplishment is often determined by a pile of logs stacked up, requiring a diversity of physical actions to achieve it, both on the ground and above.  A lot of consideration is sometimes involved in the process as well, different situations come up and there are risks that require being confronted.  It can make for some very interesting and exciting work.

Most of the tree work is aided by a crane, a great device that often allows a safer and more practical approach to removing trees. The vid here, I made with my helmet camera, and it exemplifies a typical day, part of a job cutting about eighty trees on a property to be sold, and where a recent snow had caused some damage to an adjoining house when a few trees toppled.   It gets especially interesting when the wind picks up about 25 minutes into the vid.  The wind is a truly powerful force, and something to be very well considered and respected when working with trees. 

A pretty girl and her jewelry box

I was fortunate to have an interesting commission come my way not too long ago, and from the states.  A friend asked me to make a jewelry box for his young daughter, to be shown to her upon it's arrival, but actually will be given to her to use when she is older....perhaps turning 18?  I considered it a thoughtful and loving gift.  The order also came at a time when I really needed the work, due to the earthquake and consequences that had resulted shortly before.  Thanks, Paul!

I had been keeping a small supply of what is called Enju wood here, in my possession for at least fifteen years, but had never used any of it.  It is a legume, not so unlike Black Acacia and in the same family I believe, but is a bit softer and a warm brown color.  No previous experience working with the species, but I knew it by reputation as a material sometimes used by an old occupation of woodworkers in Japan, called "sashimono".  These are people that specialized in making smaller items in wood, from scroll cases to certain types of furniture, most frequently in a traditional style, but in many instances also having unique detail embellishments, often very intricately made articles that required a major investment in time to produce.  The level of skill and fine degree of execution is inspiring if one cares to look into it.  There are fine examples to be seen, though sadly, the demand for such goods is in limited supply today, and the number of people still involved in the trade, now few. I suspected that Enju is fairly easy to work and can take on fine crisp details, which turned out to be the case. I can only imagine that the color of the wood will become deep and rich with time and use.

I enjoyed this project immensely, from the initial conceptualizing to the finish execution.  The design is pretty simple, but there is some subtlety, as in the slightly curving sides from top to bottom.  It wasn't without a degree of difficulty to make, working within the limited allowable size, and I was quite pleased with the way it turned out.  My customer seems happy too, sent a photo of Whylie that I love, taken on her birthday!  It was a lucky coincidence that the jewelry box arrived shortly before.  The box is really not very large, but Whylie being next to it makes it appear so.  I am confident that in a few years, the proportions will be better matched!  I do hope that she will get many years of enjoyable use from what I made for her.  In thirty or forty years, I would very much like to see how it has aged....Whylie as well, alas.

Chestnut

Chestnut is one of my favorite locally available species of wood to work with.  It is not so hard as many other typical furniture making woods, a nice change from using Walnut and Cherry, for example.  The species has a certain accommodating resiliency, is quite stable, and over time, ages to a very attractive warm homey color.  With use and care, it will take on a nice patina as well, one beyond what the oil finishing process can initially impart, Either with an oil or urushi finish, the results can be very attractive.  The grain pattern is bold apparent, but not overwhelming, compared to what is often found in Keyaki (Zelkova).  There is a feeling of humbleness and practicality with the material, and that coincides with the diverse locations where it can be seen growing in and around the area where I reside.  Large trees sometimes become available to be sawn into slabs to dry for later use, but as is often the case with other woods as well, finding logs without defects can prove difficult.  Age imparts the welcomed size, but it also gives time for rot or other undesirable effects to develop, and some types of boring insects frequently will target the wood.  Fortunately, Japan has not been affected by the great Chestnut blight disease, that greatly eliminated the species in other parts of the world

Since the great earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan, I have continued to work in my shop.  Though commissions came to a near standstill and it was a major disruption, I did have some requested pieces to complete over the last year, the photos shown here being representative of some of it, and with the thankfulness as well, to have such a fine Chestnut wood to provide for the making, for myself and the people that asked me to make furniture for them.

The upper photo of four chairs is for a location that I never saw.  A lady looked through my portfolio and liked some older Windsor styles that I had done many years earlier, and notified that, "Simpler is better", was her philosophy, something that I don't so much subscribe to, generally liking a certain degree of subtle ornamentation on furniture.  I was in agreement in this instance, however, as doing the work for a 'mystery spot' necessitated restraint.  The client also specified wanting a comfortable wooden seat, as opposed to using upholstery.  Those were pretty much the extent of her specifics, once again with the nod to something not dissimilar to the earlier work photos that I had shown her.  My 'hunch' of what she would like, some inspiration from the wood, and what I wanted to make, is what remained to help with the direction of things.  After sending her the completed chairs, she responded with a most pleasing note, and a box of delicious mikan, a type of Japanese fruit similar to tangerines, and available during the winter from some warmer areas in the south.  Eating mikan during the winter is a national pastime.  It is something that can help take your mind off the cold, and what a relentless cold winter it was!  Also, the fruit is a good source of vitamin C.  Stay healthy to do more woodwork, is perhaps what she was wanting to say, along with her thanks.

The cushion seat chair as part of a dining set commission for a newly built small home, is shown with flat runners on the bottoms of the legs, essential added parts when using this type of seating on the tatami mat.  Without the lower flat connecting pieces, the legs would be damaging to the mat, causing indentations and possible tearing.  With them, the weight is spread out with no edges that will grab, and the chairs slide easily over the surface.  For wooden or carpeted surfaces, I produce this design without the bottom runners.  For people that might find it helpful to have their chairs be able to be moved with more minimal resistance, the runners can be incorporated for any surface on which the seating is used, acting as glides. The arm on this chair is rather difficult to make.  There is a dip in the midway portion of the sloping arm surface, between where one's elbow and forearm make contact when sitting, yet the wood thickness remains consistent.   As opposed to the simpler alternative of merely being flat, the curve at that point makes for more comfortable resting of a person's arm, and also adds a certain visual welcoming softness, to my eye.  Done in this way complicates the joinery process, and the design requires a number of ordered steps from bandsawing to hand shaping, to give the results that I want.  A lot of care and control is required to give the smooth transition of lines and what will best provide comfort.  The method is my own concept, I have never seen similarly done.

I am certainly one of the more fortunate ones, to still have the ability to live and work as before the disaster struck Japan, where so many people suffered the tragic losses of family, home, and their place of occupation. For many individuals, returning to what had previously been their normal way of life is still far from being realized, or the hopes to do so will never be completely fulfilled.  What particularly strikes me in this post, is the strong contrast between the last two photos.  The upper one shows a hopefulness for the future, the ability to find usefulness and enjoyment within our surroundings and in the way we live, while the lower photo shows a kind of ultimate destruction, with everything gone and bewilderment towards what lies ahead.  Both can be the realities of life.

Old photos

Going through a box of old photos taken over a number of years, I picked out a few that brought back some particular memories.  Sometimes what was done came easy, other times more entailing some struggle.  Meeting and getting to know the people who ask me to make furniture for them is a big part of it. I think the photos give an idea of some of the diversity of individuals that I have done work for, and how their tastes and homes helped to direct me to go in a design direction for the particular commission, and resulted in a fairly wide array of styles.  California is a place with rather eclectic tastes, from very traditional to wanting something that has never been done before. No doubt a lot of work was approached that would never have been so, without the inspiration from the customers, and the challenge of finding my own interest to portray into a requested job is something that I much like doing.  I receive a lot of satisfaction from building furniture that 'fits' well into the location where it will be used.

I don't particularly subscribe to the "simple is best" philosophy, I like small details that hopefully catch someone's eye over time, maybe add some fun and personality to the work.  My own sense tells me about the ornaments, what my eye wants to see, and the scale.  I try to be careful that the smaller details don't cloud up the important overall form of the furniture, put trust into an order of things to convey a message.

Mostly quite old work here, done when my shop was located in the states.

Blog reality check

With the blog I have been trying pretty hard to align my thoughts into some degree of order for a reasonable level of conveyance, and put it down with half way decent punctuation that with luck, will help it be understood, and hopefully enjoyed  It all takes a bit of effort, especially after working the entire day.

Is anybody out there?

誰でもはそこにいるか。

È qualcuno là?

Este cineva aici?

किसी को भी वहां है?

Er nogen til stede?

Est-ce que quelqu'un est là ?

Είναι οποιος δήποτε εκεί;

누군가는 거기 있는가?

Está qualquer um lá?

Ist jemand dort?

The arms are done, it's time to kick back for awhile...

Into the unknown

A number of years ago I wanted to learn the process of tig welding stainless steel., so I purchased a welder and signed up for a short course put on by the manufacturer in Tokyo.  Although I didn't really have it in mind at the time, it did help lead to an exhibition of a number of pieces made from wood and steel.  This chair was one of the more ambitious projects out of a run of a number of things.  I was thinking more 'object' than chair per say, but it did end up having an unexpected nice flex to the back, and being rather comfortable.  A furniture designer ended up purchasing it, urged on by his wife, who took a real strong liking to it.  I did express my concern to him about how it might hold up, but since I haven't heard anything to the contrary, presumably it is still in good shape.  I've been thinking about exploring the possibilities with the combination of materials again this year.

I like working with steel, things having to be done a certain way really doesn't much apply, just figure it out as I go along, and it is mostly an open book.  It does make life easier in certain regards as well, just a phone call and the next day the steel is at my door ready to be used, no thoughts needed with regard to moisture content or any of the other variables that best be considered with wood.  What prompted using steel as a furniture component was seeing an old motorized rebar bending machine sitting out rusting behind a nearby metal fabrication place, and their saying that I could have it.  I figured that it had to be useful in some way. It does work for bending other steel besides rebar, in a crude fashion.

I did get some unusual comments from some of my customers who had previously purchased my all wood furniture, for example, "What was I doing?"  Since I had never asked myself that question, it didn't bother me very much.  A few folks found it within themselves to be more kind.  It isn't surprising that people will have certain expectations about an artisan's work after seeing a certain type being done over a period, that is what helps to build a reputation, and it's good for business.  My own expectation about what I do..... to be in a good frame of mind at the shop, and to try and do the best work I can, and every hungry dog passing through gets at least one square meal.  I recall that is why I wanted to learn this work in the first place, it seemed like it would give such an opportunity.

何年も前にTIG溶接の手順を学びたくなり、溶接機を購入し東京にある製造会社の隣で開かれていた短期コースに参加しました。　それによって、その頃はそこまで考えていなかった木材とスチール両方を使った数多くの作品の展示に繋がるきっかけとなりました。

この椅子は多々重なった仕事の中でも特に意欲的に取り組んだもののひとつでした。　椅子自体よりオブジェクトとしての考えが強かったのですが、最終的にこの椅子には背の部分に予想していなかったよいカーブがつき、ずいぶんすわり心地のよいものになりました。　とある家具デザイナーが、この椅子に強い好意を持ってくださった彼の妻の力説により、椅子を購入することになったのです。　彼には椅子の耐久に対する私の懸念をしっかり伝えましたが、連絡がないところをみると椅子はきっと、まだいい状態でいるのでしょう。　今年はまた、材料の組み合わせにおける可能性の探索を考えています。

私は、決められた方法はほとんど当てはまらず、作業を進めながら方法を考え出していく(それほどの困難もありません）、スチールを使った仕事が気に入っています。　スチールの使用は私の生き方をいくらか楽にもしてくれます。例えば、電話一本で次の日には素材が私のドアの前に準備万端で届けられていて、水分含有量など状態が変わりやすい木材のような考慮が必要がありません。　家具のパーツにスチールを使用するきっかけを与えられたのは、近くにある金属製造所の外で錆びついた古いエンジン付き鉄筋製の曲げ機会を見た際に、持って行っていいと声をかけられた時でした。

以前に、素材が全て木の家具を購入してくださった何人かのお客さんから、"どうしたのか”といった内容のコメントを受けたことがありましたが、私自身が自分にその質問を投げかけたことがなかったのでそれほど気にとめませんでした。　人が、ある一定の期間に特定のタイプの仕上がりを見て、その職人の仕事に対してある種の期待を抱いても驚きではないし、それは評判を築くうえでの助けにもなり、ビジネスにとっても良いことです。　私がすることに対して私自身が抱く期待とは．．．　工房で気持ちの良い感じ方、考え方でいられること、自分ができるなかで最善の仕事をすること、そして通りかかるすべての空腹の犬達が十分な食事を与えられること。　それがそもそも、この仕事を学びたかった理由であり、そんな機会を与えてもらえそうだと感じたのでした。

Back in time

It's getting close to thirty years ago that I built this chair, a short time after returning to the states from Great Britain to start my first shop, and English style was still very much in front of my eyes.  The chair was a commission to go with a desk, and my client liked the classics.  I had been working and studying hard in England, trying to soak up as much as I could from the great furniture making history in that part of the world, and in a good local to do it, the town of High Wycombe, that in the 19th and early 20th centuries had been the chair making capital of the....universe?  Someone might pass through the place on their way from London to Oxford, and not give it a second thought beyond it's gritty appearance as a relatively small industrial town like others, but beneath the exterior is a rich furniture making past, some things special to only that region.  Surrounded by Beech woods, during one period more handmade chairs were being produced there than in any other place in the world.  I was working in the town at a later date, but the atmosphere I experienced was exciting for me as a young furniture maker.  The workshops still in business were down to only a rare few, others had evolved to a nearly total mechanized operation putting out much less than spirited work.   In addition to where I was fortunate to have found employment after a good deal of searching, walking down the narrow lanes and looking up at the many windows in the old brick buildings, behind which generations of woodworkers had once been working at their benches, it served as a great inspiration for me on my path.  There was some kind of spirit lingering in the air that spoke to me. The chairs could still be seen in some pubs and hotels, continuing to do their jobs daily after the many years, with a lot of character and the nuances that you can recognize from being made in that area.  I met a few blokes who had once worked in those brick buildings, retired by then, but with their tools kept in their sheds, and their interest in woodworking still evident in their eyes as they told the remembrances.  I found a meaning in all of it, cool to be going through the same motions with all the ghosts.

In my opinion, there is a lot to learn from studying classical furniture.  What is it that makes a particular chair more appealing, compared to a similar design made in another shop,  the "good", "better", and "best".  Subjective to some extent, but the experts will agree, and the huge sums that the auction houses can now obtain for the best work helps to confirm. What are the characteristics that makes up a nicely designed and executed cabriole leg, both a delicate and robust form that found it's way all the way over from China?  There have been almost an infinite number of variations, probably almost as many as the number of makers who have used the idea.

You don't have to think that a design is still timely to get a hint of good balance from it, maybe pick up an essence that can be applied to more contemporary work as well.  The influences were very strong from the interior design fashions of those earlier eras, moving from the city to the countryside, and there was lively competition amongst the designers and manufacturers for recognition.  Not a sense of indecision behind what went into the work, design uniqueness seems to have been a lesser aspiration after a style took hold, with slight variations and strong execution reflecting the culture of the time.

Sometimes I like to look at the older work that I have done.  Though greatly influenced, this chair wasn't exactly a copy, it has a bit of my own interpretation to it.  Developing my own perspective about work was still very young, and I can never go back to having the same sense that this chair came from, lots of water beneath the bridge since, carrying many hundreds of pieces of furniture.  'Naive' can be a useful quality in design, sometimes simple and to the point, and less individualism can bring with it a pleasing quality of restraint.  All in all, there are one or two things that I might want to do a little different with this chair were I to build it now, but it does honestly represent a certain time and accumulation of effort, and I am still happy with it, albeit produced so long ago.  

Using black Walnut for the chair, my client liked the wood.  The steam bends are unusual, from a Sycamore that grew near my shop, and the wood is not usually regarded as a good bending species.  It would bend ok, but warp badly during the subsequent drying time.  Thankfully, I managed to get something that I could use after a few tries, it worked out alright.

この椅子を製作したのは、最初の工房を始めるために英国からアメリカに戻ってすぐ後で、もう３０年近く前、まだイギリス様式から目を離すことができない頃でした。

この椅子は、伝統的なものを好むクライアントによる、机とのセット注文でした。　イギリスのHigh Wycombeという良き町で　―１９世紀から２０世紀初頭にかけてこの町は、銀河系全体．．．？からみても、椅子作りの中心地でした―　その世界の中でも卓越した家具作りの歴史から、出来る限りを吸収するため私は勉強と制作に熱心にとりかかりました。　ロンドンからオックスフォードに向かう道中に通りかかっても、この小さな産業地帯のようなじゃりじゃりとした外観の町を再考することはないかもしれませんが、この外面の下には豊かな家具作りの歴史、この地域だけに当て嵌まる特別なものがあります。

町はブナの森に囲まれ、一時は手作りの椅子が、世界中のどこよりも製作されていました。　私がそこで仕事をしていたのはその歴史の中でも後半でしたが、まだ若い家具職人であった私にとって、そこで体験した雰囲気は刺激的なものでした。　今では、まだ製作をおこなっている工場は希少な存在となり、他の工場はほとんど全ての工程が機械化され、心のこもった作品は生み出されなくなりました。

苦労の末に私が町で手にした勤め先の幸運としてさらに付け加えると、細い路地を歩きながら、古いレンガ造りの建物の、代々の家具職人達が作業台についていたであろう数多き窓を見上げていたことは、私の生き方の大きなインスピレーションになりました。　そこには私に話しかけてくる、なかなか消えない熱情(spirit)のようなものが感じられたのでした。　その頃の椅子はパブや宿場で何年もの時を経た今でも、その地域のものであると見てわかる性質とニュアンスを放ちながら、日課を守っているのを見ることができます。　私が見上げていた古いレンガ造りの建物で仕事をしていた何人かの職人に出会ったことがありますが、もう引退はしていたものの、彼らの工具はまだ物置に保管されていて、思い出話をする彼らの目にははっきりと、木工に対していだく関心をみてとることができました。　これらのこと全てに、私は趣旨を見出しました　―　亡霊たちと同じ経験を辿ることはクールだ

個人的な意見ですが、伝統的な家具の勉強には学ぶところがたくさんあります。　ある特定の椅子を、他の工場で作られたデザインのよく似た椅子と比べたときに、より魅惑的に、『よく』『よりよく』『最もよく』見せるものは何か．．．　中国から渡って来た繊細且つどっしりとした曲がり脚を、注意深く美しくデザイン/製作するための特性とはなんだろうか．．．　そこには無限に近い数、おそらくアイディアを形にした職人の数だけのバリーエーションがありました。

良いバランスの手引きを得るのに、既存のデザインがタイムリーだと考える必要はなく、しいて言えば、もっと現代的な作品にも応用できるエッセンスを見繕う、ような感じです。　一時代初期のインテリアデザインファッションから来た影響は非常に強く、都市から地方へと移行し、デザイナーと製作者の間には認識、評価のための活発な競争がありました。　その頃の文化を反映するわずかなバリエーションと強固な手法と共に、スタイルが重視されるようになり、取り入れられたものの背景にあった躊躇いとは関係なく、デザインの独特さが向上心に繋がることが少なくなったように思います。

私は時々、自分の手がけた昔の作品を見るのが好きです。　強い影響はあったものの、自分なりの解釈を多少含んだこの椅子は、完全に模倣ではありませんでした。　仕事に対する自分の観点の発達はまだ若いものであったし、この椅子が生まれてきた同じセンスを持っていた頃には二度と戻れません。　橋の下の川水はあれ以来、何百もの家具を流し運んでいきました。　“素朴さ"はデザインに役立つ特質に成り得るし、また独自性が少ないことによって魅力的な慎み深さが生まれます。　概して今、この椅子をつくるのであったら、１、２箇所、少し違ったことをしたいです。　が、この椅子はある特定の時期と努力の蓄積を表していて、ずっと昔に作られたものではあっても、自分では満足のいく作品です。

クライアントの嗜好から、椅子には黒クルミ材を使用しました。　本来プラタナスはスチームベンドに向かず、曲げることはできても乾かす過程でそりが悪くなりますが、ありがたいことに何度かの試みの末、使えるものができ、うまくいきました。