I started woodworking in my basement on my dad’s old shopsmith. In a furniture making class in college, I fell in love with the feel of a sharp plane on wood and decided I needed to see where this led. So, I enrolled in Mass College of Art and Design as a sculpture major and began apprenticing with Dale Broholm to learn the fundamentals of furniture making. After earning my BFA, I started a custom furniture making business while apprenticing with Jere Osgood. I am most inspired by forms in nature and try to capture the essence of a shape or structure that inspires me.
Trapezius Chair
Bent, tapered twisted laminations
Cherry
Bent, tapered twisted laminations
Cherry
While new scientific devices can move our understanding of the world further, art too regularly advances with the development of a new technique to overcome limitations.
I love making wood curve and learned to make tapered laminations from the one of the masters of the technique, Jere Osgood. Tapered laminations taper along their length, allowing the final piece to narrow without cutting through the grain. This enables the design of more dramatic curves without compromising strength.
I love making wood curve and learned to make tapered laminations from the one of the masters of the technique, Jere Osgood. Tapered laminations taper along their length, allowing the final piece to narrow without cutting through the grain. This enables the design of more dramatic curves without compromising strength.
But with this technique it is difficult to make small radius curves in thick wood. So, I invented a Filled Tapered Lamination to over come this. In this technique, the distinct inner and outer edge of the curves are laminated curves individually and solid wood is tapered and kerfed to fill in the center. This technique can be seen in the pieces below.
Side Table
Filled tapered laminations
Ash and glass
Filled tapered laminations
Ash and glass
Pelvis Stool
Filled tapered laminations
Bubinga, Ash and leather
Filled tapered laminations
Bubinga, Ash and leather