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As September approaches, we are getting revved up about Woodworking in America (WIA) which is held this year in Winston-Salem, N. C. (here’s all the information). New speakers this year include such big names in woodworking as W. Patrick Edwards, Will Neptune, Phil Lowe, Drew Langsner, Dale Barnard, Jerome Bias, Matt Bickford, Wilbur Pan, Matt Cianci and Brian Coe. As a result, the programs presented are fresh and well worth the trip to the conference. Plenty of new information to be learned. Make plans today to join us at the conference.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll highlight some of these speakers giving a little background on each with more information on their WIA topics.
W. Patrick Edwards
Patrick was the 2014 recipient of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM) cartouche award. If you’re not familiar with this award, the best description I’ve read is from this year’s award winner. Patrick writes, “I usually tell them it is like an Academy Award, since it is voted on by members of a group to recognize the achievements of another member of that same group. In other words it is an award of your peers, for lifetime achievement in a particular skill. You must be nominated and then a jury evaluates your efforts in various fields, like teaching, awards, creations, publications, lectures, etc.” W. Patrick Edwards is the first person West of the Mississippi to receive the award. The photo above is W. Patrick Edwards receiving his SAPFM Cartouche award standing with Mickey Callahan and Steven Lash (from wpatrickedwards.blogspot.com/).
At 2014’s WIA, Patrick’s first seminar is “Historic Marquetry Processes” (Friday 12/12 @ 11:00AM) (Saturday 12/13 @ 8:30AM). He’ll demonstrate and share examples of historic marquetry methods including “tarsia certsonia, “tarsia geometrica,” “tarsia a toppo,” “tarsia a incastro” and the “Classic Method.” Specific focus, however, will be on the two types of marquetry which are most commonly found on furniture, the “Boulle” process and “Piece by Piece.”
His second topic is “Building & Using a Chevalet” (Saturday 12/13 @ 1:30). In this session you’ll discover the unique “chevalet de marqueterie,”a tool developed in France for precise cutting of marquetry elements – as small as 1mm in diameter. Patrick analyzes the tool in depth providing details about its construction, adjustment and use.
Patrick also started the American School of French Marquetry (ASFM); he knows his stuff. The school has two goals in teaching students: to introduce students to the chevalet, and to share and teach the traditional French methods of making marquetry surfaces as taught to Patrick by Pierre Ramond. The photo at the right shows Patrick using a chevalet as he demonstrated at the Getty Museum. My bet is that after his sessions at WIA 2014, many attendees will be building a chevalet.
If you’re looking for additional information on marquetry, pick up a copy of volume 12 of “Woodworking in Action.” In the DVD Silas Kopf (WIA presenter last year) gives a step-by-step demonstration of bevel-cutting for invisible marquetry joints plus a thoughtful discussion of the design process.
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
