Pelt for Daniel Hoffman's Ram sculpture

Poplar shavings are dyed and sewn onto fabric to create this pelt

Daniel Hoffman's Ram sculture in progress

The legs for the Ram Dan Hoffman is making

Open Studio - July 16th, 2011

Our Open Studio Day was quite a success.  It was well attended and each ITE'er put on a great demo for our guests.  Here's Kim turning a bowl with Ambrosia Maple from the Fairmount Park wood dump.

She did a great job explaining the process to the onlookers and she drew quite a crowd!

Albert presiding with a smile, as usual!

  

Michael explained his steam bending process.

 

Beth, on the importance of good sharpening skills.

 

Noah with his beautiful 4x5 camera.

 

 Carl with his Angel Wings in the foregound explained the finish on his sinks to visitors. 

 

Dan discussed his use of shavings with his pelt in the foreground and his baroque wall hanging in the background.

 

My small beginnings as a wood turner.  Several people have been supportive of my efforts, especially Beth, who has a great system for teaching, encouraging and a contagious positive excitement.

 Noah's portraits so far.

 Kim and Don Miller, furniture maker and UArts professor, chatting in the machine room.

 

View from the lathe I've been using.  Not too shabby.

 

I couldn't resist including a picture with Harry.  He loved to look at all the people and tools and hear all the sounds of the day.

Visit to Winterthur and the Dominy Shop

 

On Tuesday, July 12th we mad our way down to Wilmington, Delaware to visit the Winterthur Museum, where we were lucky enough to have an appointment for a tour with Charles Hummel, Curator Emeritus.  Mr. Hummel has been at Winterthur since the early 1950's.  He has an incredible wealth of knowledge about American Decorative Arts and is probably the best resource for institutional knowledge at the museum.  He was hired by Henry Francis DuPont himself, the founder and creator of Winterthur as it exists today.  

We visited the installation of two buildings that were part of a family business in East Hampton, New York from the early 18th to the mid 19th centuries.  Generations of Dominy's worked with wood during that time making furniture, clocks, mill parts, doing repairs as well as many other things.  The larger building behind Mr. Hummel contains two lathes and a plethora of beautiful woodworking tools.  We even got to go inside the shop!

 

If you enlarge this photo you'll be able to see some fancy inlay, indicating that this tool was repurposed from an old sword blade.  Waste not, want not.  Recycling is nothing new folks, it's the disposable stuff we use today that is a new and dangerous concept.

 

Below the tool is a table top form set up on the large lathe to show visitors how such a thing would can be turned and shaped.

 

We were fascinated by all the familiar looking tools as well as the things we needed Charlie's help to identify.

 

A beautiful old plane is lovingly inscribed with the name of its owner and probable maker, Nathaniel Dominy 1755.

Washington DC trip

During the beginning of our residency we were fortunate to take a trip to Washington DC to visit several private collections, as well as, visit the Renwick Gallery, Museum of the American Indian and the National Gallery. We have a van, which makes it easy for us to take these trips. Here we are walking along the mall in DC, you can see the Washington Monument directly above Michael's head.

We met with Nicholas Bell, a curator at the Renwick, who kindly showed us around and provided us with a lot of great information and insight. The Renwick is amazing and it was a great opportunity to see such finely crafted and influential works in person.
During our 3 day visit, we also visited 4 homes of collectors. Wow! Each collection was amazing in its breadth, size and sophistication. I really enjoyed seeing how similar and different each collection was/is. All of our hosts/hostesses were extraordinarily generous, hospitable and trusting. They each allowed us to handle the artworks and ask questions. I especially enjoyed hearing the stories that went along with each piece, such as the piece below, which is entitled Jewel. I am very thankful to each of the collectors for inviting us into their homes and sharing their collections with us. What a unique, informative and inspiring experience they provided us.
Here is Beth in front of the National Cathedral, which we visited as well. What a beautiful cathedral.

Good wood and good food

Thankfully, our dorms are a short walk away from the Italian Market. Anyone who knows me reasonably well knows that I love to cook and eat so the Italian Market is like a dream come true. I am also thankful that Beth shares the same fondness for food as I, therefore we are usually partners in crime when it goes to tasty indulgences. Below is a photo taken at Claudio's Gourmet Deli, which is in the heart of the Italian Market. They have an amazing offering of charcuterie as well as olive oils, pastas, sauces, etc. I hugged the large hanging cheeses during my first visit.

At the end of the Italian Market is a great little Mexican restaurant called La Lupe. Beth and I had a tasty lunch there one day after shopping in the Italian Market. I had a chorizo taco and a pork tamale, which both were yummy. I washed it down with a Squirt, which is grapefruit flavored soda.
During the second week of our residency we were introduced to Gus, who works at Fairmount Park. Gus is a hoot n' a holler. He wields a chainsaw and cuts through large logs as though they are butter. On our visit he supplied us with: pear, holly, ambrosia maple and more. The photo below is a small bowl I made out of the pear wood Gus gave us. I don't usually work with green wood but "when in Rome".
Here is Gus in action at the "wood dump". It is amazing what variety of wood species are in the wood dump. On this day we got a lot of Ambrosia Maple.
Gus declared Beth the "Wood Ambassador". He even supplied her with a brooch to demarcate her regal status. Here she is proudly wearing her brooch and granting benevolence to all who enter the woods behind her.

Week 2, New x 2

During Echo Lake we were generously given an invitation by Mark Sfirri to visit his studio in New Hope, PA and join him on a visit to the Rago Auction house in Lambertville, New Jersey.

Rago was about to hold an auction of decorative arts and within their collection were pieces by major figures in the history of fine craft. For example, we saw this large desk/table by George Nakashima.

We also saw this amazing bench by Judy McKie. I love its hefty size and stylized features. The visit to Rago was a real treat because we were able to touch and sit upon the furniture. This intimate encounter with the artwork was a rare opportunity and a great learning experience. We also saw and fondled work by: Wendell Castle, Wharton Esherick, Alexander Calder and many Danish modern furniture masters.
We also were able to visit Mark's home and studio in New Hope, PA. Mark's home is a very old farmhouse which is quite lovely and charming. Mark has two beautiful Abisinian cats who were quite social.
Mark is very well known for his off-centered turning. Here he is showing us one of his off-centered split turnings. It's amazing what he has been able to create with this technique. I am anxious to try some off-centered turning myself and I find his work very inspiring.
Here Mark is showing us a sample corner of a large bench he made. I was impressed by how he cleverly uses a mirror to reflect the bench half so that it appears as whole. If I recall correctly, this was done to show a client his idea before committing to creating the bench in its entirety. Clever.
After visiting Mark's studio, home and the Rago Auction house we also visited the Nakashima Studio compound in Pennsylvania. Miriam Carpenter graciously provided us an insightful and educational tour of the grounds and facilities. I can't share photos of the experience with you but you can see how beautiful Nakashima's work is in the first photo of this post, which was taken at Rago. We were able to see the gargantuan supply of wood, from which Nakashima's designs are still produced. The slabs of wood are spectacularly beautiful and impressively sized.

Thank you very much to both Mark and Miriam for a wonderful "New" day and experience.