material

For an artisan to be among the best of fine woodworking, a deeper understanding of wood is important. Wood has a very sensual quality to it. There is something special about the way it feels when you run your hand over a piece of wood. It has a warm and inviting quality to it that few other materials can even come close to matching. It is also very pleasing to look at. The interplay of light with the grain of the wood creates an ever changing kaleidoscope of beauty.The figure in wood is the waviness or curl of the grain and it adds interesting and exotic visual textures to the wood.

Hardwoods,like oak, mahogany, and walnut, or exotic woods like curly maple, zebrawood or wenge, are the staple materials for the woodworker, particularly those who focus on fine woodworking projects such as furniture. In general, hardwood species are typically harder than softwoods, although there are exceptions (balsa wood is very light and soft, but is considered a hardwood). Most hardwood tree species lose their leaves in winter, and generally offer a much wider variety ofcolors and textures than softwoods.

There is something special about working with wood. It participates in the process. You can not force wood, you must work with it, move within its boundaries. Wood is more alive. You have to study it, learn its needs, and its unique characteristics to be able to create something of lasting beauty.

There are differences within the same species and even each piece of wood from within the same tree can have its own unique characteristics. All these things must be kept in mind as you work through the design process as all these things will affect what you can and can not do. According to Howard Risatti in “A Theory of Craft,” “instead of being separated into stages, conception and execution are integrated so that a subtle feedback system occurs when physical properties of materials encounter conceptual form and conceptual form encounters physical material”[1] (p169).

Info courtesy of:

https://crwashburn.com/materials.html https://www.leosharkeyfinewoodworking.com/ https://www.autumnhillartworks.com/fine_woodworking.php https://woodworking.about.com/od/typesofwood/p/hardwood.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Furniture