private collection
Years ago I decided to rebel against the drab flannels that most woodworkers wear. I started wearing Hawaiian shirts, even though I’m in New England and far from any tropical shore.
My wife suggested at some point that I design a pattern that could be used on fabric. I took a look at some shirts and noted that the motifs need to repeat for ease of printing. I thought I could do something like that on a cabinet with marquetry. I choose a cabinet design that was about the size of a human torso. The marquetry had seahorses. They wrapped around the exterior of the ellipse.
The background is birdseye maple, which I liked because it eludes to bubbles and water. Some of the seaweeds are done with dyed woods.