A Tree of a Different Color

The perceived beginning of a season is more critical at certain times of the year than others.  When temperatures in February and March swing from below freezing at night to near 40 during the day, a magical thing happens to sugar maples here in the Northeast.   Sap begins to flow, then it is collected,…
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Cherry Burls

Burls make more than fine lamp bases.  After many seasons of growth, effort expended to cut, dry and slice, a burl has great worth even at a small scale.  Hardly any pieces are discarded due to this inherently perceived value and a product may be created to utilize these scraps.  Out of curiosity I made…
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A Burl Life

Trees across the Adirondacks become stressed by an injury, virus or fungal infection which affects the growth hormones in many of them. The different malformations caused by this, ironically make grain patterns and external shapes that become admirable to the wood worker. They are used by artists, furniture makers, wood turners, lamp manufacturers and many…
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Compliments of Nature

We met Jim Schreiner almost 20 years ago.  He was good friends with Shirl and John Stacy of Lean-2 Studio where I was working at that time.  Jim has done a variety of things over the years but furniture making has been continuous with his business Great Sacandaga Designs now doing mostly consignment work. Paul and I…
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Old Shows Lead to New Venues

While taking a break at our Arts in the Park show in Inlet, I enjoy mingling with other artists that I have come to know and seeing all the other arts and crafts.  Sometimes people we meet are an inspiration for a new product or at times someone will steer us towards a new venue that might work…
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You Have a Gift, Pass It On

This week I will prepare for class at the Adirondack Folk School in Lake Luzerne, NY.  For the past five years I have been teaching classes on lamp shade making.  Not only do I think it is important to share your knowledge with others, but through teaching I have learned new techniques myself.  My classes consist…
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