Best part ot the Tucson fair

When I was down in Tucson I got to stay with my son Than, hes a freshman at UofA- he and I took a few hikes and had dinners together during the long weekend. Its great to stay with family or friends when doing a show, you get help setting up, it cuts down on the travel expenses and adds to the fun- thanks- Than!

Tour my art fair booth

Here's the layout inside my booth. There are so many ways that artists lay out their own booth its fun to just cruise the fair to see how creative people present themselves. These pieces are for sale and I am looking for commissions, I have my portfolio on hand and I often do some sketching right there with the client. When you are passionate about your work it shows, and when you mix experience and a good working attitude the client can understand what goes into a piece and the beautiful thing they will get. Its feels good to get out of the shop and put your work out there.

Street fair booth

Here's my booth. I have the new walnut piece on the left and the circles top coffee table in the corner behind it. My glass top "Leshin" table always gets a lot of looks but no buyer yet.

Heading to the show

Time to pack the work up and head to the art fair. I have a complete 10 by 10 art fair booth- I designed it all to fit in the trailer, along with bike, and the furniture goes in my mini van. Weather looks good so the crowds should be out in sunny Tucson.

Win some, lose some

I went to a meeting with an architect and a home owner- they were interested in a dining table. The house was very mod and demanded a fresh bold statement. I drew this design and thought the jewel like inlays in the multi angled base would anchor an angled and tapered top shape, I even had a line on a killer pile of 8/4 mahogany. Well I didn't get the job, darn! However, I have pretty cool design to add to my portfolio- on to the next challenge!

Oil shows the work

I've done all kinds of finishing work and oil is the best finish for a piece like this. It shows the warmth of the wood and allows close inspection and touching. I've been sanding and shaping smooth all the details, so its nice to reach out and touch the carvings, feel the smooth surfaces.

Attach and align

Pulls are the center point of our eyes, they HAVE to be aligned perfectly and centerd- I like to lay them out with all the drawers in place, center to center, I have to watch it now, this is the fronts of all the drawers I've worked so hard on, no screw ups here.

Pulls

The pulls on my drawers are little master pieces. I like to carve a finger friendly pull that just adds icing to the cake. These pulls are made form Iron Wood, dark and rich, the wood has very fine grain and takes a nice polish.

Bang 'em together

Put a little glue on the parts and hit 'em together with a hammer- I use a clamp or two to tighten them.

Cut tails

I've matched the pins to the tails on the drawer sides- after cutting and chopping out with a chisel I'm ready to fit the parts together- the dovetail, a remarkable joint.