Wenonah - Side Chair

Description

Walnut with Apple and Peach Seat
18 ½” W x 20” D x 41” H
Seat Height is 17” at the Front

I find one of the most satisfying parts of woodworking is the planning. I love sketching, designing, making small models, and working drawings; it gives me control of the subject and provides a base to go back to when problems arise.

For this piece I abandoned that process entirely.

I took four pieces of Black Walnut from a friend’s farm and left them on my porch with little idea of what they would become. The pieces were debris from land clearing; split from the main trunks of trees by a bulldozer.

It appeared at first that they would become part of a new handrail and banister for my own home. When I stood one of the pieces up, I realized that it had the perfect shape for a chair back. I played around with the pieces some more and realized that all of them could conceivably become a chair.

I saw a ladder-back chair with a seat made of some sort of webbing. Once I started cutting I went from four legs to three, and bent Cherry side rail become Walnut. The seat became solid, then flat, and then a gently concave row of Apple and Peach twigs from my garden.

It was a different, more intuitive and organic process for me. I believe that this is shown in the work’s sculptural lines and naturalistic feel.

NOTE ON SHIPPING: This is a large piece which will need to be crated, hence the high cost. We might be able to negotiate a lower cost, especially If you live near Washington, DC (<100 miles)

Added on Dec 28, 2009