Work in Progress

This cabinet is based on a New England step back cupboard. I’ve incorporated some details from my favorite period of American furniture - say around 1800 to 1830, with bold turned legs, a crisp classical molding at the top and the classical proportions of a great Federal piece like those by the Seymours or Joseph Rawson. These details are not visible in my initial sketch, above, but have been developed in working drawings. I’ve also incorporated painted panels for the four doors, a shaped 2-toned top (cherry and bird’s eye maple) with an image of a gently turning river, and a center panel between the upper and lower cases that is a sculptural image of 3 stepping stones over a stream – refined down to a simple graphic image. I’m inspired by the Japanese tea bowl in the sense of making a utilitarian object that can carry art – drawing, painting, even calligraphy, though I haven’t attempted calligraphy yet. The door panels are silkscreen on milk paint with an image drawn from the graphic conventions of images of rain in Japanese prints. I 'm also inspired by the contemporary painter Cy Twombly, so there may be a little Twombly in the imagery too. My original working title for this piece was “Rain”. The new title is “Six Views of the Hozu River”. It’s a hybrid to be sure, and grows from three previous pieces : the hall table, writing desk, and splay-leg table. I may stain the whole piece, which is primarily cherry, in a thin green pigment stain, except for the top of the lower case, as I did in my splay leg table (see below).