Anyone for Chess?

It's been a while since my last post, mainly because I've been working very hard on instruments more than folk art, and also due to the hard disk crash that took me away from my work for several days. However, today that changed a little, since I started doing more work on the chessboard I've tinkered with for several months. It was time to sand the uneven surface to make it an even surface. That took several passes through my drum sander.

Since my drum sander is only 10 inches wide, I had to pass the chessboard through twice, turning it around to get both sides. Fortunately, my sander has an open end and can sand pieces up to 20 inches wide in two passes.

Today I also ripped some maple strips to carve and mount on the board as a decorative frame. As soon as that's done, I'll start thinking more about what type of figures I want to carve as chessmen. More to come!

Lady Libertree

Yesterday I finished another birdhouse to submit to "Birds + Their Dwellings" at the Museum of Craft + Design. I call this one "Lady Libertree". (Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled nesters.)

The deadline for submissions is July 10, so I might have time to do one more. The exhibition, in the Museum Shop, runs from October 2 to November 14 and is open to crafts in clay, fiber, glass, wood, and metal.

As the prospectus says, "This show is inspired by the amazing variety of shapes, forms and designs of birds and the places they dwell. Found on every continent from the Artic to Antarctica, birds have found an enduring place in our cultures as figures of myth, art, food and pop icons." The show is open to all U.S. artists, and artwork must be original and made in the past 2 years.

Another idea is forming in my head. Guess I'll have to go do some carving.