In addition to form, a woodworker must learn to draw upon the beauty and the strength of the wood. The importance of this cannot be overstated. Working with organic material which moves and changes throughout its lifetime provides unique opportunities and challenges. Learning to match and position the most beautiful wood grain adds to the overall beauty of the final piece. In addition to the aesthetic the piece must be strong and functional. These design points, beauty, strength, function and comfort, provide the tensions for designing and building great furniture. For me, this is the essence of working and what I enjoy doing. Each piece is hand crafted in my Bainbridge Island workshop. Certainly I use power tools in this process but the curves and contours are done by hand making each piece uniquely beautiful. This is not the fastest way to make furniture but I prefer these traditional methods which provide me a way to express myself.
