The process

Ideas come from everywhere: dreams, words, world events, a shape in nature, an emotion that seems important enough to express in form, a client’s personality or style….From these come sketches, and from the sketches line drawings. At this point the client is involved for input, and after a final line drawing , or series of line drawings, is agreed upon, they are transformed into a line drawing tha is the actual size of the piece.

This final line drawing becomes the template.  I carefully choose the right wood, the right grain for each and every piece that goes in to a final panel. The direction and type of grain can express motion, emotion and form, so it is crucial to  choose each single piece  with the final objective clearly in mind. It can make a huge difference in the outcome if this is done successfully.

Some of the wood veneers I use are walnut, koa, mahogany, maple, poplar, pear, rosewood, ohia, eucalyptus, cedar, mango, paduk, purple heart, cherry,oak, tanganika, pine, zebra wood, ebony and all sorts of burl woods.

Once the  drawing is completed in wood,  the entire veneer drawing is glued to a sturdy backing in a veneer press. The piece is then carefully cleaned and  sanded, and cut to it’s final shape. The edges are covered in wood, tapered (for wood “rugs”), or framed.

At this phase other things can be done, such as color-enhancing, a technique I use frequently. The objective is to enhance the image created by the wood, but not to cover it. I do not want to treat the wood as a canvas, but have it be the main protagonist, and have the paint be in the background. I achieve this through using thin veils of watercolour, oil paint, pencils, pastels, brushed or hand rubbed into the wood.

Sleeping Sisters, contemporary marquetry art Sleeping Sisters is a good example of this technique.  Many thin layers of watercolour were gradually added to enhance but not overpower the marquetry.

Another technique is graffittura which takes place after the piece has been pressed in the vacuum press and received its first sanding. Thin v-shapes lines or grooves  are hand-cut into the surface which are then filled with mineral-tinted pastes. This can be used to create outline and definition or to add detail or design too thin to be achieved in wood.

graffitura marquetry techniqueThis is a detail which shows the graffittura used to add fine detail over the wood veneer design.

I have recently begun to experiment with carving as well, using techniques similar to woodblock print carving on solid wood, filling some of the cavities with mineral pasted to produce patterns and outlines, and painting translucent layers of various mediums. I plan to use this with marquetry in various ways.

After this a final series of sandings are done, and finish is applied.

There are numerous finishes that can be used, depending on how and where the piece will be used. In a kitchen for example, it has to withstand changes in temperature, grease, cleaning products, and only certain finished are recommended. A table top also has to be durable. If it is a wall piece, there is a variety of finishes that can be used, depending on the final effect one is trying to achieve.