Majorelle chairNovember 12, 2019Louis Majorelle Majorelle is an early influence on my work and one of my favorite designers. He worked in Nancy, France at the turn of the 20th century and was a major Art Nouveau artist. he mixed marquetry with carving…Read moreGolle tableNovember 11, 2019Metropolitan Museum, New York Pierre Golle Pierre Golle was a Flemish cabinetmaker who went to work in Paris around 1640. his talent was such that he quickly established his reputation, and by 1656 he had the title "maitre menusier en…Read moreCage CabinetsNovember 11, 2019Private collections Occasionally when I would get a commission I would make two because then the cabinet parts could be made more efficiently. this isn't the case with the marquetry because the pictures are all always unique. In this case…Read moreMinbarNovember 10, 2019Badia Palace Marrakesh, Morrocco Minbar from Cordoba, Spain (1137) This marvelous minbar (a pulpit used in a mosque) is now in the Badia palace in Marrakesh, Morrocco. Thousands of ebony and ivory parts are inlaid into cedar wood. The…Read moreSeaweed marquetryNovember 5, 2019Metropolitan Museum, New York A style of marquetry that was popular in England around 1700 is referred to as "seaweed". Contrasting wood veneers were cut in complicated patterns and used to decorate furniture. The work in some ways resembles Boulle…Read moreSecrétaireNovember 5, 2019Fontainebleau Palace, France Secrétaire by Jean-Henri Riesener This eye-catching roll-front secrétaire was made by Jean-Henri reseller just a few years before the French Revolution. It was a commission from Marie Antoinette. Mother-of-pearl is indeed opulent. It is also difficult to…Read moreFlukuleleNovember 4, 2019Flukulele Several years ago my shopmate, Tom Coughlin, came in one morning and said he was going to make a couple of ukuleles for his kids. (he's an excellent guitar maker.) I said that perhaps i would "shadow him as…Read moreCuckoo ClockNovember 4, 2019Here is another in my series of pieces using a self portrait. In this case it is a cuckoo clock. The marquetry is done with all natural woods except the background which is dyed-black obeche. the mechanism works like a…Read moreBaseball cabinetNovember 4, 2019private collection It can be a delight to work with clients when you share an interest. I love baseball and when asked to do a cabinet with a baseball theme I jumped at the chance. This husband and wife couple…Read moreTrumpet deskNovember 4, 2019I was commissioned to make a writing desk with a jazz theme. I chose to have about forty silhouettes of trumpets running around the top. Each had to be identical to make it look like the marquetry was stenciled. The…Read moreDining setNovember 4, 2019private collection About twenty years ago I was commissioned to make a set of eight dining chairs to go in the home in Florida. The clients wanted a different motif on each chair. The same marquetry picture is on both…Read moreKiss My AssOctober 15, 2019Someone asked where my work might be found in public collections: I have made several Kiss My Ass stools. I pair of them was recently donated to the Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia. Each one has a slightly…Read moreCertosina chestOctober 10, 2019Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Artistic influences come from many different sources. Cross cultural pollination often happens when trade develops. Italy of the Renaissance was well suited for absorbing ideas from around the Mediterranean. Certosina decoration came from a monastery in the area…Read moreFormicationOctober 2, 2019private collection A National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1988 gave me an opportunity to study traditional marquetry in Paris. One of the things I hoped to learn was the way classical marquetry would be cut for repeated motifs.…Read moreWriting TableSeptember 28, 2019J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Writing Table This exquisite writing table is attributed to Pierre Golle and was built around 1670. The basic materials are ivory and horn. The horn is translucent and has a mottled character. It can…Read moreFour ArtsSeptember 15, 2019Smith College Museum of Art Someone asked where my work might be found in public collections: A Smith College alumnae wanted to follow the lead of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Yale University and commission furnituremakers to…Read moreCabinet on StandSeptember 5, 2019Musée d'Orsay, Paris Ernest Gimson Gimson was one of the great English Arts and Crafts designers. He was one of several talented individuals who took their cues from William Morris and John Ruskin. Gibson was trained as an architect, but…Read moreNest of BirdsAugust 30, 2019I wanted to make a really complex marquetry picture with lots of detail. I had done many birds previously and thought they made an excellent subject. For this piece I wanted to put the picture at a height where it…Read moreLarry McCullochAugust 27, 2019From time to time I am posting marquetry pictures from friends. This panel is by Larry McCulloch. Larry took my class years ago in Colorado. At the end of classes I was in the habit of suggesting that if people…Read moreCognac cabinetAugust 23, 2019This small cabinet had several interesting elements. The marquetry door was to look partly open. It needed to be built in a "pocket" in the front. The play of the cast shadows was important in creating the three-dimensional illusion. These…Read moreYale University Art GalleryAugust 13, 2019Someone asked where my work might be found in public collections: An alumnus of Yale University wanted to follow the lead of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and commission furnituremakers to build public seating to go in galleries…Read moreEgyptian WoodworkingAugust 8, 2019Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England British Museum, London Egyptian inlay The roots of the marquetry craft go back to ancient Egypt. There is a fragment of a box at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England that might not appear too exciting,…Read moreBox by Greg ZallAugust 5, 2019From time to time I am featuring work of contemporaries that I admire. Here is a container made by Greg Zall (I believe it is for cremation ashes). The morning glories are beautifully executed, but what I particularly admire is…Read moreOyster CabinetAugust 2, 2019Rijkmuseum, Amsterdam This cabinet from Holland (c. 1690) is veneered almost entirely with oysters https://silaskopf.com/writing-desk/ made of olivewood. The variety of tones in the oysters is part of the charm. Some of the sections are cut at angles, elongating the figures.…Read moreBaseball PanelJuly 30, 2019private collection I made a set of panels focussing on hands playing games. There was chess, bridge, billiards, and this panel depicting baseball. They were all oversize, about 40 inches in the long dimension. I particularly liked the Baseball panel.…Read moreBarili saintJuly 24, 2019La Collegiata, San Querico d'Orcia, Italy This is one of the finest intarsia panels made by Antonio Barili (see earlier post on Barili). It was part of a set made around 1500. What first attracted me to this work was…Read moreCracked Ice TablesJuly 15, 2019Someone asked where my work might be found in public collections: In 2005 the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts put together an exhibition titled, Inspired by China. The Peabody Essex has an outstanding collection of Asian art, much of…Read moreSloppy Paint JobJuly 13, 2019private collection Sloppy Paint Job I wanted to to take a fairly straight-forward furniture form and add an amusing bit of marquetry to it. This little cabinet was made from shedua (an African wood) and the panels were pieced together…Read moreJailbreakJuly 5, 2019Jailbreak fits into the "open cupboard" troupe l'oeil pieces that i have been exploring for a long time. It's a little different in that there is no depiction of a glass door or a solid door, but a wire cage…Read moreCoffee tableJuly 2, 2019private collection I was contacted by a couple named Joel and Anne, asking about having me make a piece. We decided on a coffee table. They wanted something trompe l'oeil, but that can be difficult, as there are so many…Read moreSeaweed marquetryJune 24, 2019Metropolitan Museum, New York The Metropolitan Museum in New York has a fine example of English “seaweed” marquetry. The cabinet was built about 1700. The doors are quite spectacular. The inside of the cabinet has a set of smaller drawers…Read morePierre RamondJune 21, 2019Pierre Ramond In 1987 I was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. I wanted to do something special with the money. I contacted the author of a book on marquetry who taught at the celebrated École Boulle in…Read moreFalling OystersJune 20, 2019private collection Some limbs of trees can be cutting veneers. These disks are called "oysters". Often the oysters have great character and can show the growth of the tree. You can follow the knots from piece to piece as the…Read moreBringer of PeaceJune 18, 2019Bringer of Peace This marquetry panel is by Spider Johnson. Spider lives in Texas and we have been pals for ages. Spider has cut marquetry in the traditional fashion and has added the laser to his arsenal. This has led…Read moreCoffee tableJune 17, 2019My first forays into marquetry furniture were modeled on the French Art Nouveau. I used the floral designs that had been jewelry box tops and made bigger panels. Pictures for coffee tables were about four feet long. The table members…Read moreAquarium 2June 15, 2019Fuller Museum, Brocton, MA Someone asked where my work might be found in public collections: Octopuses are among the most amazing creatures on Earth, and I have long found them intriguing. I thought I might be able to pull off…Read moreWendell Castle game tableJune 10, 2019In 1974 I started work for Wendell Castle. The pieces he made were interesting and challenging for me as a relatively inexperienced woodworker. I did a lot of sanding and finishing.... After about a year on the job I was…Read moreHadley ChestJune 7, 2019private collection An iconic piece of American furniture is the Hadley chest. These objects were made in the Connecticut River valley in the colonial era. Hadley is a neighboring town to Northampton, where I live. Typically Hadley chests had lifting…Read moreFloral Still-lifeJune 3, 2019private collection Floral Vase Cabinet Flowers have always been a great subject for decoration. The shapes and colors offer endless variety. When I started making marquetry I mimicked the French Art Nouveau floral patterns of Gallé (see earlier post) and…Read moreIntarsia panelJune 3, 2019Monte Oliveto Maggiore, Italy Fra Giovanni da Verona Giovanni was the master of the illusionary intarsia open cupboard. The choir stalls at the Monte olivet Maggiore monastery near Siena are decorated with his panels. They were made around 1500. At…Read moreZigguratMay 31, 2019It's always a treat to work with sumptuous materials. This chest of drawers was all about the materials. The basic wood is thuya burl. The veneering is interesting because the boxes housing the drawers are all different sizes. Strings of…Read moreEgyptian CofferMay 28, 2019Egyptian Museum, Cairo Coffer from Tutankhamen's tomb This coffer was made during the reign of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen (1332-1323 BCE). Wooden furnishings have not survived from the ancient world except in Egypt, where dry climatic conditions have been favorable to…Read morePrimal WoodworkingMay 24, 2019private collection A trip to italy in 1984 introduced me to the portrait intarsia of Antonio Barili Antonio Barili self-portrait. I had previously seen a photo of his self-portrait at work. When I errand I thought I'd give a self-portrait…Read morePortrait of Pierre RosenauMay 21, 2019private collection This magnificent marquetry portrait was made around 1930 by a Russian immigrant to France name Vassilieffe. He worked in the workshop of Pierre Rosenau and made this picture of his employer. The picture is only about twelve inches…Read moreWho’s Chicken, Now?May 15, 2019Someone asked where my work might be found in public collections: I always look at a finished piece and ask myself, “If I were to do this piece again, what would I do differently?” When I finished Bad Hare Day…Read moreTypewriter DeskMay 13, 2019private collection I wondered if I could do marquetry on a tambour and make the tambour slats relatively inconspicuous. The picture would need to have the majority of the grain running with the slats. I wanted to do a desk…Read moreRoentgen panelMay 13, 2019Austrian Museum of Applied Arts The is one of two wall panels made in the David Roentgen workshops for Charles of Lorraine. This one is titled The Magnanimity of Scipio. It is dated 1779. The designer was Januarius Zick and…Read moreNathan LombardMay 7, 2019Winterthur Museum, Delaware Nathan Lombard Early American furniture is not known for elaborate use of marquetry. Decorative elements were more likely to have been carved. But on occasion tasteful inlay was used to enhance a special piece of furniture. Nathan…Read moreJewelry boxesApril 29, 2019My first experiences with marquetry was making jewelry boxes. They had simple marquetry pictures for the tops. the boxes themselves were solid woods. I marketed them through the craft show circuit. I had about a dozen floral designs and i…Read moreFounding Fathers Writing DeskApril 22, 2019private collection Founding Fathers Writing Desk A few years ago I was invited to participate in a unique exhibition. A company in Virginia had been collecting timbers from historic estates and plantations. Mount Vernon, Monticello, Montpelier, etc. About a dozen…Read moreJim MacDonald GuitarApril 19, 2019I have known Jim MacDonald for decades and have admired the guitars he makes using marquetry decoration. Here is a unique instrument with a bit of nostalgia for the late 1960's. He has created a still-life with album covers (I…Read moreTelephone CabinetApril 15, 2019Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA Someone asked where my work might be found in public collections: Telephone Cabinet (1993) has two pairs of doors with a life sized self-portrait covering most of the surface. My intent was to build…Read moreBone VoyageApril 12, 2019private collection Bone Voyage Commissions are collaborations with the client. My hope is to always personalize a project for the owner. I want to know what their interests are and I want to make something special for them. About twenty…Read moreRuhlmann Corner CabinetApril 8, 2019Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann is many a woodworker’s favorite designer. His pieces are sophisticated and filled with interesting details. His name is almost synonymous with Art Deco furniture. Ruhlmann was born in 1879. As…Read moreWriting deskApril 5, 2019private collection Oyster Writing Desk “Oyster work” in woodworking is a veneering technique where a limb of a tree with heartwood-sapwood contrast is sawn into cross-sectional pieces. If the limb is cut perpendicular to the growth the pieces will be…Read morePierre Golle tableMarch 28, 2019Metropolitan Museum, New York Pierre Golle In the seventeenth century France was among the real powers in Europe. Wealth was flowing into the country from colonies and there was an aristocracy anxious to own objects of luxury. Talented craftsmen from…Read moreTiger CabinetMarch 25, 2019private collection Many years ago I acquired some birdseye figured satinwood. I thought it was one of the most beautiful veneers I had ever seen. Every time I would pull it out and think of using it I would always…Read moreCharles Spindler screenMarch 18, 2019Musée d'Art Moderne, Strasbourg, France Charles Spindler My introduction to the craft of marquetry came from The Art and Practice of Marquetry written by W.A. Lincoln. There were a handful of black and white photos and one that caught my…Read moreFloral Cabinet on a StandMarch 15, 2019Milwaukee Art Museum This floral cabinet was purchased by the Milwaukee Art Museum in 2002. I had been invited to be part of an exhibit of three American marquetry furniture makers from three different centuries. The earliest maker was Nathan…Read moreFox and GeeseMarch 10, 2019Fox and Geese The cabinet I have been working on has now been lacquered and the richness of the wood can now be appreciated. The main wood is Macassar ebony with it's beautiful stripy grain. The red woods of the…Read moreErnest GimsonMarch 8, 2019Leicester Museums Ernest Gimson English crafts in the late 19th century were heavily influenced by the writing and philosophy of John Ruskin and William Morris. Honest craftwork was to be an antidote to the de-humanization of industrial labor. Morris’s company…Read moreLouis MajorelleMarch 1, 2019private collection Louis Majorelle Nancy, in eastern France, was a hotbed of marquetry furniture at the turn of the twentieth century. It was home to Emile Gallé (see earlier post), as well as another important designer of marquetry furniture, Louis…Read moreNew York Times articleFebruary 28, 2019From the New York Times (1989) I was recently doing a little housekeeping and attempting to "uncluttered" a bit. I came across a box of newspaper and magazine clippings. I wonder why I had ever thought to save most of…Read moreFall front deskFebruary 25, 2019Private collection Trompe l'oeil Cat Desk In 1984 I got the chance to go on a little tour of Italy looking at intarsia panels with an American couple. They had written an article on the subject that caught my eye.…Read moreAntonio Barili self-portraitFebruary 20, 2019Antonio Barili As I was putting together my book, A Marquetry Odyssey, I knew that there was a handful of pictures that had to be included. One of them was the self-portrait of Antonio Barili. Barili was born in Siena…Read moreJan van MekerenFebruary 18, 2019Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Jan van Mekeren One can associate Dutch culture with flowers. So check out this cabinet in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam by Jan van Mekeren from around 1700. The doors have the two magnificent bouquets. There are slightly smaller…Read moreBad Hare DayFebruary 15, 2019Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC Someone asked where my work might be found in public collections: Bad Hare Day (2007) was purchased for the collection of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian. The cabinet is made of Macassar ebony,…Read moreFox and Geese cabinetFebruary 9, 2019Fox and Geese Cabinet The primary wood for this cabinet is Macassar ebony. The solid wood that frames the panels is walnut. There is a lifting top on the left that will have a space for a printer.Read moreMarquetry gooseFebruary 9, 2019Marquetry goose The same process is used to put the goose together.Read moreInto the pressFebruary 9, 2019Pressing the panel The marquetry is glued to a pre-bent panel. Five layers of 1/8" plywood were bent in a two part form. This fixes the desired curve. The panel is trimmed square and then the marquetry is carefully aligned…Read moreMarquetry tapedFebruary 9, 2019Marquetry fox taped Now the image is facing right. You can now see why the work proceeds from the back side as a mirror image. The tape obscures the lines where the glue side shows all the cuts clearly. This…Read moreMarquetry foxFebruary 9, 2019Marquetry fox cut Now the fox has been cut into the background and set in. This picture is now ready to glue to a panel.Read moreMarquetry fox completeFebruary 9, 2019Marquetry fox complete The whole fox has been put together and is ready to be cut into a Macassar ebony background. A hole will be drilled on the perimeter and the entire animal will be circumnavigated. So the hole in…Read moreMarquetry foxFebruary 9, 2019Read moreFox and Geese drawingFebruary 9, 2019Fox and Geese drawing Every marquetry picture starts with a pencil drawing. I'm not particularly concerned with colors, although i do have a basic idea of what woods i will be using when I start to cut the marquetry.Read moreAndré- Charles BoulleFebruary 8, 2019J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA André- Charles Boulle When asked to name a famous furniture designer we in the English speaking world might say “Chippendale”. However, if you asked someone in France the same question, the answer might…Read moreFra Giovanni da VeronaFebruary 5, 2019Monte Oliveto Maggiore Monastery Fra Giovanni da Verona My introduction to marquetry came from a book by William A. Lincoln, The Art and Practice of Marquetry. I learned the basic technique of cutting pictures by following the instructions. There were…Read moreMarquetry of Émile GalléFebruary 1, 2019The work of Émile Gallé was what first attracted me to marquetry. Gallé (1846-1904) is best known as a designer of art glass. However, he also ran a furniture factory in the city of Nancy that specialized in marquetry. When…Read moreNasturtiumsFebruary 1, 2019Someone asked where my work might be found in public collections: In January my sideboard buffet, Nasturtiums, was acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This is especially pleasing to me as I am a Pennsylvania native and PMA is…Read moreThree Mile Island desk and chairFebruary 1, 2019Someone asked where they might find my work in public collections: The Museum of Fine Art in Boston acquired Three Mile Island Desk and Chair a few years ago. It was made in 2004. The base of the desk…Read moreTWO BLONDES AND A BRIOCHE (AT THE BISTRO)July 15, 2016The tape must be scrapped and sanded off the panels. This is a job that must be done carefully to both keep the panel flat and not go through the veneer. This is when you finally get to see the…Read moreGLUE UPJuly 14, 2016The panels are individually glued to MDF. In this case I have gone to a shop that has a large hot press that is big enough to accommodate the marquetry.Read moreTHE PANELS TRIMMEDJuly 14, 2016The rectangles need to be trimmed to slightly over their finished size to facilitate gluing. Small wood blocks will be glued to the edges to “key” the board to the marquetry.Read moreTHE MARQUETRY PANELSJuly 13, 2016The three marquetry panels, complete and ready for assembly.Read moreBODYJuly 13, 2016The body is finished and ready to put into the background.Read moreTORSO AND HEADJuly 13, 2016The picture has evolved and the upper body is now complete. The parts can still be separated to facilitate the assembly in the bigger panel.Read moreMAKING THE FACEJuly 13, 2016The face is done. I have changed the woman from brunette to blonde. I wanted more contrast with her hair and the background and I wanted her to match the golden retriever that is in the final design.Read moreADDING ELEMENTSJuly 13, 2016Parts of the picture are worked on as units and then they cab be combined into larger elements. They are taped together with masking tape so they can be separated. This insures that the marquetry is small enough to cut…Read moreMAKING TWO BLONDES- marquetry cuttingJuly 13, 2016The drawing is made full size, in this case working from a photograph. The drawings is copied with tracing paper and then using carbon paper the lines can be put on the individual pieces of veneer. The picture then develops…Read more
