The old man

My dad in Pueblo Bonito

Pull it open

The drawers will get this wood pull- its made of alder and has a step detail on the front, I cut a similar detail around the fronts and a few other spots- just giving it a little interest.

Drawer work

I cut some sliding dovetails for these drawers- its a pretty good joint and I have a nice thick drawer bottom to help keep them stable- full extension heavy duty drawer slides, all make for a pretty sturdy set of drawers.

Lightening

There was quite a storm in the desert when we delivered this piece- its really cool to watch a good thunderstorm off in the distance and feel the wind and smell the rain- bonus!

Home sweet home

I sometimes have a little separation anxiety on delivery- I've spent some time with the piece and made some critical design decisions, when they work its labor of love and I want to keep the piece forever! But I have another project and so off it goes to start its life in the client's home.

Finish- ed

Oil finish is the best- I get to see the wood come alive and enhance the buffing and polish I gave the surfaces. I'm using an eco friendly oil finish.

Are we done yet?

Now I've got the leg details carved and the piece is reassembled with glass insert and rotation system in place, looking sweet, where's that finish I ordered?

Midnight oil

All of the carvings are a little different yet they play with the same vocabulary of line and texture, this is where I let my heart drive the bus- close your eyes, feel the shape, follow your dreams...

Take it to the streets

So the expressive idea has to be applied in a way that makes visual sense on the piece as a whole- if I add carving to the top of the legs then it could conflict visually with the compex puzzle parts of the top- adding the detail to the side of the legs would decrease the slightly larger mass of the legs and add the desired detail- bingo-

Expression

My original drawing has some carving on the legs- until now I was not sure where or how I wanted to add some of this texture. To me the legs needed a way to break up the mass of the shape and add some interest to them in some way-

Rattle snake

Nice Blacktail on a hike yesterday in Fay Canyon, early evening with a light sprinkle of rain....

Tricky looks not

I'm trying to layout the recess in the lower level- I have a glass insert for the top level and when I swing the table out I want to have a place to put collectibles and cool stuff, in a recessed area- this is a little tricky and I'm trying to make it look mellow.

Leg shape

Legs are a great thing- they have a shape all their own- these ones are chunky and currently have assymetrical tops that angle and round.

Tops flow

The mesquite is such a nice wood to work- it has beautiful grain. smells great and has some dynamo color- I cant wait for oiling to bring out the richness...

Parrot

I Always pull into the thrift store when I have a minute.

Table

I've got the top pieces fit and sanded and mounted now and I'm going to attach thge legs today and see about a carving detail- the flow of the grain and the seams is pretty cool. The cut out for the glass is prepped and the lower recess will be determined, notes etched in stone by cave man....

Cave man

Its hot here in Arizona in early July- the sun is really strong and the ground is dry- I ride early and then hide in my subterranean shop during the day- yesterday we got an afternoon rain, first in months, it may be the beginning of the summer rainy season, I sat in a chair on my deck with my son Than and let it rain, desert lizards like that.

Bicycles on the road

I ride my bike almost every day, when driving and you approach a cyclist on the road get as far to the left as you can- on a single lane road you MUST cross the double line to pass a cyclist safely- its legal to do so and necessary for the safe passing of a cyclist. On a two lane road, if you slow down and get over you will force the other cars over, force drivers to slow down, and help to protect the safety of cyclists on the road. There is a new law in Arizona that you MUST move over and slow down for an emergency vehicle or police car on the shoulder. why? Because its dangerous to pass them close and people cant figure that out, so, please do the same for cyclists, move over and slow down.

Polution

My son and nephew talked about saving our little blue planet- Idea? Voluntary program for car drivers: you get a red license plate or a blue plate- on even days of the month you can drive a red plated vehicle- on odd days you can drive a blue plated vehicle- result: say 25% of american drivers sign up- right away you reduce the daily car use in our country by 12%- pretty good idea.