Rustication adds a sense of nature to refined designs. One of my favorite places is a neighborhood Italian market called DeVitis. Every time I step through the door, I stop and let the smells of [...]
Minor adjustments typically beat a hatchet job. I knew a guy who didn’t shave or cut his hair for 12 months at a time. On day 365 he looked like the wild man from Borneo. On day 366 (or day …
The right orientation adds shimmer and pop to your work.
by George R. Walker
pages 18-20
The barn loft was hot and dusty – and especially so after digging through piles of [...]
Control the eye for better design. Nice Lines. We say those words to describe a well-designed boat, sports car, chair or saw handle. It expresses our pleasure when all the parts of a design seem [...]
Move beyond a measured drawing and let your imagination reign. My 6-year-old nephew, Ryan, loves to eat cheese puffs and play with Legos. For his birthday, I bought him a set of the colorful [...]
Meet Reid Schwartz: artist, interested human, maker of tools, worker of wood and restorer of old things Crooked Knives & Curved Lines A canoe is a study in curved lines. The curves allow it [...]
Look for the ‘bones’ to observe how form defines design. It happens during almost every furniture design workshop. At the start of day two, a carload of students shows up 20 minutes late. One [...]
Getting off the straight path can be liberating. I can see it with my eyes shut: a curving stretch of highway snaking past Otter Cliffs in Acadia National Park. Each twist in the road opens up a [...]
As with woodworking skills, design and drawing skills take practice. For many woodworkers, design seems like a leap into the unknown. It’s one thing to teach our hands to saw to a curved line; [...]
It will take more than one drawing to get it right – and that’s OK. My best days in the woodshop are with my 4-year-old grandson, Seth. He’s just tall enough to see over the benchtop and quick to [...]
Practice is the best of all instructors. Maynard lived next door. When he wasn’t spinning wrenches at the local Ford garage, he was out in his driveway, hunched over a neighbor’s car. As a kid I [...]
Isometric views help keep your designs grounded. The kite leapt into the wind and I frantically uncoiled string that burned and chafed my hands and fingers. The thin wooden crossbeams bent almost [...]