http://www.etsy.com2008-09-24T17:14:00-05:00All the news that's fit to serve for woodmosaics2008-09-24T17:14:00-05:00weirdwolf, woodmosaicshttp://www.etsy.com/storque/handmade-life/robin-tucker-of-wood-mosaics-on-the-beauty-of-wood-2625/

<p>As a follow up to the <a href="http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/thisHandmadeLife/article/handmade-portraits-wood-mosaics/2588/" target="_blank">Handmade Portraits: Wood Mosaics</a> video, I wanted to post some of the footage I shot of Robin Tucker talking about the woods he uses in his woodwork. Robin mentioned in the interview that although some of the more exotic woods can be high priced, they add to the overall beauty of the pieces. It can be hard to keep up a good supply of wood in order to get your varied colors, but you only need a little to make the design striking.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p align="center">&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <embed src="http://blip.tv/play/5SbOpn+Dh1s" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="347" width="565"></embed> <embed src="http://blip.tv/play/5SbOpyKDh1s" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="347" width="565"></embed> <embed src="http://blip.tv/play/5SbPmHGDh1s" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="347" width="565"></embed> <strong><a href="http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/thisHandmadeLife/article/handmade-portraits-wood-mosaics/2588/" target="_blank">Handmade Portraits: Wood Mosaics</a> | <a class="column" href="http://www.etsy.com/storque/search/tags/Handmade%20Video%20Portraits/">more Handmade Video Portraits</a> | <a href="http://www.etsy.com/category_top.php?top_tag=woodworking">Woodworking Category</a></strong> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

2008-09-19T15:54:00-05:00weirdwolf, woodmosaicshttp://www.etsy.com/storque/handmade-life/handmade-portraits-wood-mosaics-2588/

<p align="center"><a href="http://blip.tv/file/get/Etsy-HandmadePortraitsWoodMosaics162.mp4" target="_blank">MP4</a> | <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oNtaRG5yzA" target="_blank">Youtube</a> | <a href="http://blip.tv/file/1276832/" target="_blank">Blip.tv</a> | <a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=274681115" target="_blank">Subscribe in iTunes</a></p> <p><em>(music by <a href="http://www.myspace.com/fullyqualifiedsurvivor">Michael Chapman</a></em><em>,</em><em> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/nathansalsburg" target="_blank">Nathan Salsburg</a>,</em><em> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/jseger" target="_blank">J. Seger</a>)</em></p> <p>Robin and Kathy Tucker of <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5123485" target="_blank">woodmosaics</a> stopped working in town back in 1986. After Robin's intricate wood-inlayed work was featured in <em>The Best of Missouri Hands</em> catalog and commissioned by Ralston Purina, they were on their way to full time crafting. Influenced by Amish quilt patterns, Robin's excellent woodworking uses exotic natural woods that range from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloroxylon">Satinwood</a> from Sri Lanka to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purpleheart">Purpleheart</a> from Central and South America. All of the wood is completely natural, with only a clear finish added to punctuate the beauty of the wood's innate color.</p> <p><img src="http://www.etsy.com/storque/media/bunker/2009/10/wmosaics_flame-640.jpg" alt="wmosaics_flame-640.jpg" width="604" height="340" /></p> <div style="text-align: center"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center"><img style="border: 5px none ; padding-right: 5px" src="http://www.etsy.com/storque/media/article_images/quilt5.jpg" alt="" width="196" height="182" align="left" /></div> <p>Choosing to live as off the grid as much as possible, Robin built a windmill so the family could hand pump their own water. Kathy made their clothes for years and they slaughter their own meat from the goats and chickens they raise. However, the one amenity they can't live without is the internet. After a dozen years of craft shows across the country, Robin and Kathy prefer to stay at home, tend to the farm and sell their goods via laptop rather than mall shows. While the juxtaposition of an outhouse and high speed internet would seem strange to most folks, the Tuckers have chosen to make certain sacrifices to keep costs down while in pursuit of a self sustained lifestyle. Living in the middle the country in Spickard, Missouri, the Tuckers keep connected through the latest in social networking via their <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&amp;friendID=197611223" target="_blank">Myspace</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8809133@N05/?saved=1" target="_blank">flickr</a> sites, with a solar powered back-up generator in case the electricity goes out.</p> <p><img src="http://www.etsy.com/storque/media/article_images/computer_SM.jpg" alt="" />&nbsp;</p> <div style="text-align: center;">Watch our other <a class="column" href="http://www.etsy.com/storque/search/tags/Handmade%20Video%20Portraits/">Handmade Video Portraits</a> and subscribe to our <a href="http://youtube.com/etsy" target="_blank">Youtube Channel</a>!</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><em>Check out Robin's homemade videos from the farm on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/woodmosaics" target="_blank">Youtube</a>.</em></div>