As you can see the glass top allows the curves of the table to be seen. The table will fit in a contemporary or eclectic room.

The table is all about design.  As you look at the table you will notice the detail at the top of the legs and as with other tables of this style, I use a different wood for the detail offering a nice contrast. The solid Cherry used for the table was hand selected for color, grain, and quality.  The finish is cherry stain with varnish topcoats to match the client’s chairs. 

I devoted a good deal of time planning how I would go about making the table. The joinery being complicated had to be very precise.  Planning ahead was key to its success. A mock up of the corner was first made, so each part’s relationship to each other could be seen and evaluated. The apron and four of the ends are held together using Mortise and Tenon joints. I added screws above and below the tendons, for more strength and as a way for me to test, fit, and assemble the joints dry. I also needed to design a structural system to be built into the base that would lift and support the top and would not take away from the design.

I prefer to perform most of the work using fine old hand tools, instead of relying on machines that may speed the work, but limits the design possibilities. I feel machines put too much distance between the work and the artist. In the mind of the craftsman the process of creating is what drives the artist. I tried to capture simplicity of design that imparts a certain amount of calmness to the viewer.

The design seems simple but the construction is a complicated puzzle of interlocking parts fitted together to produce a strong table that will last for generations.

One day while I was in my working in my studio I heard a chainsaw, so I walked across the street to find that a tree surgeon was cutting down a Northern Catalpa. I asked him if I could have the lumber. He was curious what I would do with it, so he came to see my studio and then offered to mill the wood. Two years later, Storm emerged.

The leg grows in size as it falls from the top, which is uncommon for most table legs. However with the larger mass at the bottom contributes to the overall appearance of stability. As the viewer’s eye explores the table it makes subtle discoveries such as the detailed carving at the bottom.

Reclining Figure proved to be a very time consuming project with a number of construction challenges. Each small piece of wood had to have an angle chopped on each end, and then a compound band saw cut was made on both the inside and outside to conform to a pattern that showed the shape of the compound curve.  Gluing each small piece of the stack down and against the adjoining piece without a flat surface to hold a clamp proved to be the crux of the construction challenges. The scraping and sanding to final shape of the inside curve also proved to be time consuming. The table is finished with many coats of Tung oil varnish. In the end the hard work was worth it because the piece was so well received.

Most of my Northern Red Oak is locally grown; it will always be in fashion and will be appreciated for many years.  As with most of my art, a hand rubbed clear finish enhances the natural beauty of the wood.

Purple heart is a beautiful wood, but difficult to work.  It has a dulling effect on tools and should only be put in a room with ultra violet light protection to prevent the color from turning brown.  

Gentle curves and classic symmetry of form gives this table and mirror a feeling of composure.  The eye connects the two shapes completing the form and grounding the piece. It is made out of solid Mahogany but would be handsome in other woods. The entire table is then finished with seven coats of hand rubbed finish.

I wanted to create a piece with legs that flow from the top like water cascading down a cliff.  The leg comes together at the base similar in the way water would naturally pool. Please be aware that no two boards of wood look the same, the next Falling Water will have its own character and beauty.