A Cabinetmaker Turns

I have been a cabinet and furniture maker for many years. Cabinets and furniture build form by cutting, fitting and assembling the pieces that make the whole. Segmented turned form—my work is an example—involves varying degrees of assembly before the object is put onto a lathe and shaped freehand with turning tools. In burl bowls for example, the focus is on turning a particularly interesting piece of wood. I simply frame the top, and stabilize the rim, with a double assembled ring of ebony. Other works minimize the center bowl and elaborate the rim with multi-color and multi-center assembled designs. In a few works, there is no center bowl. The form is developed solely through assembled pieces. In all of this work, I am very interested in surface design—the patterns formed by the different woods I use. In segmented work the patterns tend to repeat. By changing the center of rotation as I assemble my work, I can create asymmetry—patterns that do not repeat. In my latest work, I change the axis of assembly to get non-repeating patterns in surface design on vertical forms.