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During my trip to Texas in March I stopped to visit furniture conservator Alton Bowman. Alton and I met at the Ebinist conference in Amsterdam last fall where he was presenting on his use of CNC routers in marquetry. It was wonderful to see in person the piece he had spoken about (right) and fill several of my gaps in the history of marquetry. (Coincidentally, Alton and I both started off as painters at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, though a couple of decades apart.)
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From wood to leather: my article on leather laser-cutting techniques, Where the Laser Meets the Leather, was published in leather manufactures' J Hewit & Sons Ltd online publication, Skin Deep. Many thanks to David Lanning for asking me to contribute. The article explores a wide range of laser-cutting techniques for leather and parchment, including leather marquetry, pierced parchment, and leather embossing.
You can read the article, here.
In this month's short and sweet newsletter, I share with you a few marquetry samples in leather, wood, and parchment inspired by a studio visit and my aforementioned article on laser cutting leather. Enjoy!
In FreeFall Artists in the World learn how jewler Ruthie Murray can help you can give the gift of hearing to a child and look fabulous at the same time.
Feeling inspired! Have a project idea? Let's chat!
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Base wood was engraved at two depths for maple and leather inlay.
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leather - maple
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leather - calfskin parchment - wood veneer
While it may be difficult to see in this picture, the parchment is mottled in color and texture because it came from a spotted breed.
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FreeFall Artists in the World
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Goldsmith and jewelry designer Ruthie Murray has launched Earclick in an effort to help connect kids around the world with hearing tests.
"At the age of five, our daughter Julia was diagnosed with hearing loss during a routine pediatric checkup. When the doctor told us that 80% of her hearing was gone, we were stunned. Over the next two years, she underwent three surgeries and, eventually, her hearing was restored. Julia was fortunate to have her hearing loss discovered as a part of a well child visit, and to receive the surgeries and intervention she needed to thrive."
In partnership with World Wide Hearing, each pair of Earclicks purchased provides a hearing screening for a child in need - buy a pair, screen a pair.
Earclicks are comfortable, lightweight earrings made from domestically sourced wood, and feature innovative magnetic closures.
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The use of hardwood was one of the reasons Ruthie chose to work with me on this project. Unlike online laser cutting companies where you are limited a select number of materials, I work with artists to find materials that best fit their projects. As long as it's laser safe, of course!
Watching the laser cutter cut out shape after shape was very mesmerizing. In this picture (below) you can see the low tack mask was applied to the wood protect the metallic finish.
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