A Lovely Woodworking Studio

One of the positive effects of aging is that I am now working on a project for the son of one of my special friends and sometimes client.

Rex and Emily approached me about a design for a very special combination garage and shop.  We started out thinking alot about Bernard Maybeck's work and we were especially taken with the Mathewson House

I've always loved this design and have long wanted an opportunity to play with it.

Here is what I came up with.....

We kept working at the fenestration and we arrived at this.

Lower siding will be horizontal lap, the window sills wrap around the facade to seperate the lower siding from the cedar shingles above. 

Above both doors will be a clear red cedar 12" wide vertical board and batten siding.

The owners are going to build the windows and doors under my direction.

We have the shell built, here are some photos....

 The big pile of trash on the right helps to anchor the picture.

At this stage it takes some imagination..

We're pretty stoked.

 One whole side of the building is set into a low bank with a handset retaining wall.

The view from inside the shop is across their backyard.

The Garden Gate Revisited

I continue to work on my garden gates.  Lately I have designed a cane bolt for it. This is a drawing of it in my sketchbook.

I later went on to make a full sized drawing that I took it to my good friend Arnon Kartmazov to forge in stainless steel.  He turned the project over to his partner, a colorful Chech blacksmith Nitzan Lille.  This was the result.........

They both put their stamps into the handle

It works beautifully.

I'm thrilled.

Two Gates - Two Brothers

Kevin Downing

Kevin has been my brother and a woodworker all his life.  For a number of years he worked with me in the craft.  He stopped doing it professionally some time ago and is now an important force in the DEQ significantly contributing to the air quality we take for granted here in Portland.

He continues to do woodworking creating great beauty though.

This is for his home. It is western red cedar with a bamboo screen in the gate. 

The rafter ends are painted white.  I especially like how some of the rafters are paired closely together.

The gate posts are cut to fit on the granite boulders of the foundation. There is a 3"x1/2" x 24" steel bar running vertically inside the post, through the rock and into a buried concrete foundation.  It looks so great and it is powerfully strong.

Exquisite

My Own Gate,

You have seen the watercolor of this in a previous entry. Here it is. 

It's a combination of styles with carved almost Gothic tracery in bottom panels and the organic Art Nouveau

top rail.

I'm enjoying hand carving more and more.  The tracery was hand carved as was the little sweeping roof over them.

That top curve became more and more thrilling as I carved.