Laying out sycamore boards to begin the process of imaging the placement of the butsudan case.
My goal with a design drawing is to settle in on proportions, and to have an idea of the overall form and elements that I’m interested in working into the design. Many of the smaller details will be done as I’m assembling and putting the piece together; things like the treatment of an edge, or the size of a bevel. The goal is to get close enough to start cutting wood and joining things together but continue to respond to things that come up as I move through the process. I spend a lot of time looking at the way parts look in relation to each other and on the proportions of an overall piece. My formal training, at university, was in photography. When I’m composing a project, I approach it in the way I would look and critique a photograph. I’m thinking about the visual interest in a piece of furniture, attempting to lead the eye of the viewer around the piece, through the grain, defects in the wood, and the shape of the pieces.
It took awhile for me to decide on the wood to use in this project. I’m looking for it to stand apart. To be something stunning with a bit of the unfamiliar at first glance. I didn’t want anything to give itself away immediately. For the choice of wood, I went with sycamore. A wood not commonly used. My first thought when I was narrowing in on the wood I’d use was to go with something that wasn’t dark, nor light. A tone in-between, with reds, browns, whites and yellows. Something that would be not immediately recognizable. In the end, I went with sycamore. A less commonly used wood.
Thinking through the process of putting boards together to get the necessary width.
This project is about the life that is remembered through the final piece. And as such, a life is never a simple thing. With every element in a furniture project, there are questions to answer and steps to plan. I’m always trying to make sure to try to have as many answers as possible before moving into the next stage of the project. At this point a few of the unanswered questions were— which pattern to go with for the kumiko latticework that would be placed into the doors. I needed to teach myself to do kumiko so I could get a handle on the difficulty involved in completing different patterns, plan out the pattern in the size I would need for the doors, and pick shoji paper to be glued onto the back of the kumiko. Another question was the layout of the inside of the cabinet. I wanted to allow for a little flexibility. It is not yet completely decided what will go on the inside of the cabinet, so I want to design the space to hold shelves. Some of the shelves might never be used. There is the possibility that a section will be reserved for a vase with flowers. The last major element for the inside of the cabinet to figure out is lighting. It is nice to be able to hide lights, but it isn’t always practical.
I’m always thinking about wood movement in a design. I need to make sure the cabinet won’t blow itself apart because the wood will continue to move through the seasons. This is a huge driver in the planning process and why these questions need answers at the earliest stage in the planning process.
Putting two boards together to get more width. Which is the front and where does the seam go?
Composing is about getting a piece like the one above into the right spot to highlight the amazing things going on in it.
