Hall Table Design

Well this week was spent working on the final design for my hall table. There were a lot of hours spent on CAD and rendering programs trying to get a final look at what the final design will look like.



The table is heavily influenced by a few people. But let me explain a little about the table. Our brief was to make and design a hall table that didn't look like your typical hall table. We also have to incorporate a second material other than wood somewhere into he design.

So I wanted my design to challenge the preconceived notions of a hall table. The first thing I thought of was not to have 4 traditional legs. So I came up with the idea of having 2 frames in the front and 1 bigger frame in the back. So I think it gives the appearance of not having 4 legs, but it actually is sitting on more ground space. Looking unstable, but being very stable. This look came from the Uno Chair that I built earlier this semester. The back of that chair was a frame. That chair was designed by Neil Erasmus.

Then I was turned on to Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Who was an architect and a designer. There was one piece that struck me. If you look at his furniture there is a recurring theme of geometrical shapes, which is what I am trying to use in the back frame of my table. We shall see how it all works out. This project will take up the next 10 weeks. So I'll post the progress.



Well we have this next week off for break. And we are heading up to the northern east coast of Tasmania, to a place called The Bay of Fire. We are going to do some camping now that the weather is getting nicer. So until next time.

Assignment #2 over

Well the due date for our chest of drawers assignment was today. We were told that in order to be considered finished, we had to have the carcass and at least one drawer done. Not many in the class got this done. But I am a firm believer in dead lines. I had yet to not finish a project on time here. And this time I finished technically, but I only got 2 drawers done. I wish I had gotten the third done. But man I couldn't believe how much is involved in carcass furniture. We had just about 4 weeks to due this project. But that was in between art classes and other classes that we have. So a typical week we have about 3 of the 5 days to work on our projects. So this piece was built in 12 days. So I guess when I look at it like that not getting the final drawer done isn't that bad.






Now we get right into ( or as the Aussie say "stuck into" ) our hall table project. This is the last project of the year. With this project the design is completely up to us. So this is the one that I have been looking forward to. My design was influenced by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. He used a lot of geometrical shapes and cut outs in his furniture. If I can I'll try to post a picture of the CAD designs that I have made. Anyways until next time.

Losing our Leader

So this last week has been pretty normal. In fact I can't really think of much new to write about. I've spent most of the week making some drawers for the chest of drawers that I am making at the moment. Neil has taught us the way that he makes drawers. Which was completely different to the way that I had always known. But I must say that his way is much better. He makes them in a way so that the drawer sides are a lot thinner, so that the overall drawer is not only lighter but looks so much more elegant.

We had a meeting this week with the head of the school of architecture. He came to discuss the future of the school with us. For those of you that didn't know, the school was once private but last year almost went bankrupt. So the Australian government decided to lend a helping hand. They decided to make the school part of the university of Tasmania. Anyways the university has decided to keep the school going in the near future. The only problem is that our fearless leader Neil Erasmus has decided that he needs to get back to his business in Perth. So he is leaving at the end of the year. Which is both a good and bad thing. Next year our course is mostly taught by visiting lecturers. Meaning we get other designer/makers who come in and teach a specific class. So we don't get any actual teaching from Neil. But he would be there to bounce ideas and concepts off of. But now with him and Pam leaving, they are actually coming back next year to teach us a 6 week class. So we will actually get more of him this way. So I think it's a good thing.

Anyways until next week. I start making my self designed hall table. So I will keep you all up to date on that.

A day in the life

I think I'll try to make this a weekly thing. But you know how life gets. You might think, "He's a student he should have all the time in the world. We if I was a typical Uni student then yes I would only have 1 maybe 2 classes a day and then the rest of the day to do things like study. But things are just a little bit different here at The Australian School of Fine Furniture.

He our days are pretty full on. We started at 8:30 in the morning. Right now on Monday morning we have a Uni class called the history of contemporary art and design. This was part of the course that I first struggled with. We've had and are still having different art and drawing classes. But I have come around to see the real importance of drawing and also seeing and knowing design history.

Then on Thursdays we have a drawing class, that is turning out to be really beneficial. During the rest of the time is spent at the shop. We due a few different classes. One is Furniture Technology. Here we build a few different things that are designed by our instructor Neil Erasmus. This semester it was the chair from my previous post and a small chest of drawers. ( more on that in a minute. ) Then we have a Design Workshop, where we get to design our piece, last semester it was the mirror that was previously posted, this semester it will be a hall table. We have yet to start that, so more on that in a few weeks.



The chest of drawers is a great project. We are building this in miniature, so it's what I call a jewelry box on STERIODS. But we are doing it to learn about carcass construction and especially drawer making.

And to finish this week, he's a picture of my trusty Veritas Low-Angle Jack Plane that has been put to good use so far. Until later-

My first few pieces

Well this is a new venture for me. I have always thought about doing something like this. But just never got around to it. And now here I am in Launceston, Tasmania Australia and thought this would be a great way to communicate with people. As many if not most of you know My little family and I moved here in the beginning of this year. We came here so that I could attend The Australian School of Fine Furniture. It has been a very interesting first 6 months.

Moving here from Washington D.C. was no easy task. Although this is a great little city, but it is just that a little city. But that is what I like the best about it. We don't have a car, but the town is so small we can walk every where. We live right in the middle of town. And there is no traffic to contend with or even see. I love that.

The school is great. The head instructor is Neil Erasmus. You can see some of his work at www.erasmusdesigns.com , he is a great designer maker/ pretty good teacher. Having only had some minor experience in furniture making before coming here, I think my skills have improved 100 fold.

The first thing that I made was a Document/jewelry Box. The box was made out of Jarrah with a musk Veneer that was bookmatched on the top with a small black inlay around the Musk. The box was put together with handcut miter dovetails. Those are regular dovetail, but with a miter or 45 degree joint in the top and bottom. The inside there is a tray and they are both lined with leather.




The next thing that I did was a mirror. We were told that were to design this ourselves, and that it could not be just a regular frame with a mirror in it. So my design was a mirror that suspended inbetween two outer frames, that hung off the wall at an angle. The mirror is called "Shaka" which in Hawaiian means "Hang Loose" Which is exactly what the mirror does. This piece was made from myrtle with Jarrah inlays. Everything about this mirror screams mirror, the two outer frames were cut from the same piece, so that they are mirror images of each other, as with the inlay they mirror each other also.




Next I built a dining chair. Even though this was not my design, I love this chair. I've always wanted to build a chair. But I was always afraid. Mostly because of the math involved. But it was a great learning experience. The chair is made from Tasmanian Blackwood.

We have some really interesting things coming up here in the near future. I will keep you all posted.