Dower Chest. ca.1780 Berks County, Pennsylvania. 23.16. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Painted furniture in the German-American tradition bears evidence of a deep craving for liveliness, mythology, and whimsy. As Fabian suggests, these chests “exhibit a full range of celestial and earthly subjects” with stars, flowers, hearts, horses, and peacocks right beside more fanciful creatures like unicorns, angels, and the elusive mermaid. Even the common house cat makes an occasional appearance. The decorators of these chests clearly wanted to incorporate the fullness of life in their work, though the intent of individual decorators in applying particular motifs is sometimes unclear. Fabian suggests that while there is much conjecture about these themes, “almost never are we given any clue...
Many aspects of Japanese tools have remained unchanged for centuries, because there has been no need to improve upon their design. Saws, for example, still retain the long wooden handle wrapped with rattan, not because better handles are hard to make but because the philosophy of simple, minimalist design has become part of what the tool is all about. Gripping a Japanese saw comes naturally, and it is hard to find fault with the design. The long handle instinctively tells us that there’s room for both hands, which is useful for long rips. My minimalist workbench has seen me through most of my work and will continue to do so. I no longer yearn for that mighty Roubo workbench because...
This episode was recorded on the road back in September, and in it Joshua, Mike, and Eden explain the various ways they’ve sourced lumber in rural Maine. As a from-the-hip recording, this conversation traverses quite a varied terrain – from the house project status to purchasing lumber in unconventional ways to the damage solar farms have done to the state of Maine. Buckle up – this one’s taking you places you never thought you’d go.
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