Not very common in my career is a
request for a reproduction of a previous piece, though such is the
case with this pierced side table, a different version previously
appearing in this blog/portfolio: Craftsman Style Side Table. Though Craftsman
inspired it includes the uncommon design element of pierced legs as
well as one of my “trademarks,” namely utilizing different woods
in one piece, in this case quartersawn white oak, African mahogany
and black walnut. What is not obvious in the picture is the fact
that the legs are not perpendicular to the top but rather splay out in
both the x and y axes exactly 1°.
More than one woodworker examining the piece thought that the legs
were ever so slightly tapered. They are not. Nonetheless the eye
immediately understands this departure from the norm, and even if the
brain can't place it, the disturbance of protocol is distinct and
pleasing. Another departure is the asymmetry, such
as three different thicknesses in the component pieces of the legs,
the two widths of shelf boards, the very pattern of the
tabletop. It's unlikely you would find anything like this in the
Stickley catalog as symmetry is de
rigueur in commercial
furniture. I find a little asymmetry rather refreshing, the piece holding the eye a blink longer.
Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at: FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com
Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at: FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com
