Wikipedia : Tlingit -( pronounced-/ˈklɪŋkɨt/ or /ˈtlɪŋɡɨt/; also spelled Tlinkit) are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast.[2] Their name for themselves is Lingít,[3] meaning “People of the Tides”[4] (pronounced [ɬɪnkɪ́t]). The Russian name Koloshi (Колоши) (from an Alutiiq term for the labret) or the related German name Koulischen may be encountered in older historical literature, such as Shelikhov’s 1796 map of Russian America.[5]

A stash of highway dividers off the pennsylvania turnpike.

On my way back from the east coast. Can’t wait to get caught up with everyone!

Keeping in mind that the joints were cut by hand, and much of our two weeks was spent learning the skills to do this work, I was impressed with the dedication and energy of this group.

Here are some of the pieces, and a link to Tim’s website.

TimothyRousseau.com.com

>

/>

One of Tim’s fantastic demonstrations.

Although I was slated to teach with Peter Korn, I ended up teaching with Tim due to an unforseeable circumstance. Regrettably, I was not able to spend time getting to see first hand, Peter’s skill as both a teacher and maker, but my week with Tim was amazing. Tim is a highly gifted teacher and maker. I can see clearly that the center’s careful cultivation of relationships with local talent as well as talent from abroad bodes well for its future as a highly significant Mecca for the world of furniture making.

Australian maker and teacher David Upfill-Brown is also currently a resident fellow here. A previous instructor of the 9 month comprehensive, David has become a mentor both in the studio and on the water. A consumate fly fisherman, he graciously guided me into the best bass fishing I’ve ever experienced! His generous nature and contagious exuberance is paralleled only by his remarkable eye, highly skilled hands, comprehensive understanding and acute articulation of insight into furniture making. Here he is shaping legs for a commission of beautiful dining chairs. An image of a previous design follows.

As the saying goes, “All work and no play makes jack a dull boy” My studio practice includes a strict regiment of play. Sometimes it is metaphorical; when I am engaged in a creative exploration where the intention is to try hard not to be self-critical of the outcomes. Other times, it is play!

My most recent play experience was a solo trip out to Clinton lake here in Lawrence. What started out as a leisurely two day camp, turned into a weekend research project on the performance of the Bamboo Canoe. The varying conditions on the lake this weekend were a perfect proving ground to study the characteristics of the canoe’s Rob Roy inspired shape.

Conditions on Thursday:

http://www.weather.gov/climate/getclimate.php?wfo=top

During gusty times, small white caps appeared making for an exciting ride. Moving down wind I was able to catch a few swells for a short ride on the surf.
In general I felt in control and balanced. Despite the wind, the boat tracked evenly, the key was to ballast the boat with the gear.

I was traveling with 40 Lb. pack. I found that tucked directly in front of me, with my legs wrapped around the pack, the boat felt even more stable (our center of gravity had to have been right at the waterline.)

When headed into the waves, there was a rare wave that would throw spray into the boat. My thoughts immediately moved toward designing a spray skirt that would extend the bow-deck. A design that could be clipped onto the stem band and then to the scuppers on the gunwales.

Friday, two neighbors moved into the next site. Highly enthusiastic about the boat, the were quick to overlook their original annoyance that I had arrive a day earlier to claim the picturesque site that perches wonderfully above the lake.

Mike and Marcos were keen on giving me feed back on the boat. On saturday, morning, the weather cleared and the warm condition tempted me into a swim. Before my departure, they each took a turn paddling, they helped me document a stability test, and with a gps they brought along, we were able to track my top speed on the water. On a short burst, I accelerated to 7.2 mph.

I’m hoping Mike and Marcos will drop me a link to the video they shot of the stability test.

Please stay tuned in, as I will have an update soon! First on my list, the amazing work coming from my students at the University of Kansas! Here’s a link as a preview…this is a great project that my students Tyler Lagaly, Kevin Meyer, Kyle Waggoner, and Peter Curej have been working on for some time now!

http://projectpinckney.tumblr.com/

Wanted to post images of the completed “Comfort Girls” Cocktail tables.   Hope you like them. What isn’t shown is the hollow interior, and the fish-eyed lens that further distorts the wonderfully undulating forms on the inside.  The lenses also serve as coasters.

Please take some time to check out the link to Andrew William’s (my studio assistant) latest group project.  Project “Kee” addresses the very relevant and dangerous issue of “texting while driving.”  I think you will find their solution innovative and compelling.

I’ve been pushing hard on some new work getting ready for my next show at Wexler Gallery in Philadelphia.  It opens may 7th, 2010. I’m also so honored to be able to say that this is a joint show with Tom Hucker (see link).  Tom has been a hero to me for a while now, so I’m swelling with pride.  I’m really excited about where the work is going, and have really made some  technical changes/advances to the process in order to achieve the forms you see below.

These came from a sketch that arrived in my sketchbook sometime toward the end of the canoe experience (while I was editing the video that documents the inspiration, construction, and launching of the canoe -see link below).  A series of 6 forms were generated on a software program called Rhino, from which I was able to cut and print out cross section, similar to the canoe making process.  The program generates each compound curvilinear surface from 4 bounding curves that I define.   From there the process is similar to that of the construction of the canoe as documented in the video, with the following exceptions.

I’ve had to change the strip dimension.  I’ve cut the strips in half to create a more square cross section, this allows each piece to bend more evenly in both directions.

I’ve introduced Hot Glue as a clamping mechanism, a trick that maker and artist Rob Macks of Laughing Loon Canoes showed me when I visited his studio.  This replaces the wedging system documented in the video.

humidor

The bamboo was very clear in communicating it’s thresholds.  I was able coax a bit more flexibility by creating a humidor and moisturizing the the individual strips.  Steam bending would have worked as well, but not practical with this many strips!!!

Special thanks to my student/studio assistant Andrew Williams for all his help

Photo Credit: Aaron Paden

I hope to have three cocktail tables to show together in May.  I’ve chosen to do the three on the right in the rendering, primarily because it seemed like they would push the bending capacity of the bamboo strips in different ways – in wood working terms, bowed (warped along the length), crooked (warped along the edge),  and twisted (like a Twizzler although my favorite sweets are Skittles).

Cheers,

Tom