News from the Studio
My studio is attached to my home. I have built it to accommodate the mediums I love:
Painting, printmaking, marquetry, and carving.
When I need more space, I can set up just
outside the studio doors to do operations that require my table saw, sanding etc.
Oil Painting
The majority of my work involves oil painting; which the space suits extremely well. I have lots
of natural light and many views of the mature trees and beautiful blooms that surround my property.
I am grateful daily for this space to do my work and to be close at hand to my family,
as each of them pursues their daily activities.
Boxes
As a painter and a craftsman, I am always seeking new ways to combine my current work with my experience in fine furniture making. These artful boxes have allowed me to combine my skill sets to present my paintings in a stand-alone form. This allows the viewer to live with and experience the art in a new way; perhaps truly marrying inspired design and function.
Mixed Media Artwork
Marquetry:
Returning to my artistic roots with a request from a client to build a jewelry chest. The chest features my marquetry design across the top and front; along with interior compartments for specific jewelry. The final bit of inspiration came from a1970’s dress pattern-mixing the geometric with floral
Tzedakah:
For my family this past holiday season, I created hand-made painted boxes. For each box, I created a painting on the lid and employed both woodworking and bookbinding techniques in the box construction. The box is inspired by the idea of giving and, in a global sense, giving back. I call them Tzedakah boxes. Tzedakah is the Hebrew word for charity.
The Tzedakah boxes I knew as a child were small banks where you deposited coins; upon filling the box, you gave the contents to the charity of your choice. My hope for these boxes is that they could be used as banks for charitable pursuits or a repository for special keepsakes and notes related to that giving. A “3D” journal of sorts to chronicle one’s charitable activities.
The world is moving so quickly these days and many of us make donations online, but I crave a tangible record of that giving. These boxes represent my desire to create a piece of art that represents beauty along with the notion of giving of ourselves.
Bookbinding:
Another project this year leverages bookbinding techniques to create trifold books. The
books feature my three-piece paintings. For these books, I rely on the table saw to build the
skeletal structures that eventually get wrapped with the bookbinding fabrics.
