First, The Tudors at the Metropolitan Museum www.metmuseum.org.  They really pulled out all the stops, bringing some priceless tapestries

Tapestry woven for Henry VIII 1526-28

made on commission of Henry VIII, loaned by the Musée national de la Renaissance, château d’Ecouen, France.  Using Gold and Silver threads throughout, it is likely that the set of ten panels would have cost as much as a warship. 

And Henry’s own armor and his own Psalter. 

And a large number of Holbein portraits. This portrait of Sir Thomas More borrowed from the Frick www.frick.org. 

Sir Thomas More

But they also had smaller sketches of Holbein from the Queen’s Royal Collection (now I guess it should be referred to as the King’s Royal Collection?) like this one of Anne Boleyn.

Anne Boleyn by Hans Holbein the Younger

And the Sea Dog Table, which I missed seeing when I was at Hardwick Hall this summer, since it was being worked on for transport to this exhibit.  Probably the most important piece of 16^th century furniture in England.  And I see in at The Met in NYC!!! 

The Sea Dog Table from Hardwick Hall, England

Wolfgang Tillmans

But that is not the only thing to see in NYC this month.  At MOMA is a show of Wolfgang Tillmans’ work, Wolfgang Tillmans: To look without fear that is exceptional in every way. Not only for his photography,

but in the way he curates the installation over multiple spaces on the 6^th floor, ranging from huge prints of his, high on the walls and on doors,

Displayed on walls, doors, high and low

to tiny, pocket-sized prints, to experiments with collage and work in and on tables.

Table – Low intrinsic value – pine, MDF and particle board

Which also made me think about the table and its use – in this case using very common woods and fastenings . 

It made me think about my work, the low intrinsic value of this object, and what it would look like if I used the same design – simple, straightforward and transparent – with some of the materials I use – gold, ebony, mahogany, rosewood.  Transforming it into a table with this low/high intrinsic value dichotomy.  Maybe I’ll work on that.

Not to be missed, this is one of the most thought provoking shows I’ve seen in a long while. Both of these are exhibits that I think everyone should see.

Enjoy your trip to New York.

R.

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It’s a question I’ve been struggling with.  People are reluctant to travel and visit galleries and museums, and with this pandemic continuing into the next year, it seems like there should be a better way to connect with people. 

I think we might have found it. But first, how we got there. 

(If you don’t care, you can just  click here and go to the solution we have come up with) 

I’m not alone in the thought that we need to find a better way.  The shining star in the museum firmament is the Frick Collection in NYC.  Every week they host “Cocktails with a Curator”, what they are calling a mini-series with casual but well produced videos of a particular piece of work in the collection. 

https://www.frick.org/interact/miniseries/cocktails_curator

Not only compelling, but also convivial, these 20 minute windows into the collection are just the right amount of scholarship and introduction into their world.  It makes me smile.  It gives me information.  It is free.  I am giving money to the Frick this year because of it.  Enuf said. 

Following them up is the Berlin Philharmonic,

who began to do live performances at the Philharmonie (their beautiful hall) in April.  First it was two people on stage playing.  No camera people, no frills.  Just live music.  All free for the asking.  

Then it was four, all masked, playing in an empty hall.  Then 6.  By the end of the season, the final live concert played out on a much larger stage, which they have modified, and with a sparse audience.  The live portion of the concert was short, and interspersed with other recorded performances.  But it was live.  I signed up for their season pass.  Again – they provided something of value that others weren’t doing.  And they learned what works and how to improve it along the way.

As makers and artists, most of us are still making.  But with our ability to communicate in person limited, our voice feels muted. So the hunt is on for a virtual venue where we can share our work and our thoughts and where other people can actively view and interact with pieces in depth.  

I thought that museums should be able to do that, so I started looking, and found the National Gallery of Victoria.  In Australia.  Doing an exhibit of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.  Virtually.  

And then we started to work out our own exhibit strategy.  Four months later, we had settled on our 3D platform, the testing was complete and our individual work ready for delivery.   Thanks to the League of NH Craftsmen we had a venue to do the exhibit photography.  Which led to our official opening of Alone Together on November 20, 2020, an exploration of the work eight of us have done over the past 9 months.  

Here is the link.  Alone Together 3D Virtual Walkthru

The NH Furniture Masters loading in to the exhibition
(Yes, we socially distanced- and took off masks only for this 10 second photo!)

I hope you like the result.  I also hope we learn and improve on it for our next exhibit. Stay tuned.

R. 

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I have some inspiring news about an innovative solution to visiting in-person!  After working with the other Furniture Masters and some museum curators, exhibit and marketing people, I think we have an ability to share our work with you: 

• While you are at home.
  
  
• In a way that is compelling and powerful.
  
  
• And hopefully in a way that will entice you to collect some of our work.

It kicks off on Friday evening with a one hour Zoom (I can hear the groans already – Help me Lord – not another Zoom).

But give us the benefit of the doubt.  Come join us.  Bring your favorite beverage (I’m going to try a shrub).

It should be not only eye-opening, but also may set the direction for many other exhibitions to come.

And maybe, just maybe, it will bring us all together for a short while.

See you Friday evening at 6pm.  The Zoom link is here.  I’ll remind you on Friday afternoon.  Don’t miss it.

R.

NH Furniture Masters “Alone Together” Virtual Opening

Time: Nov 20, 2020 6:00 to 7:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83491044703?pwd=UHVReHpraitaT1ltY1MxS1U5L0FUZz09

Meeting ID: 834 9104 4703
Passcode: 890772

One tap mobile
+19292056099,,83491044703#,,,,,,0#,,890772# 

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Down at the bottom of the hill from our farm in Wolfeboro NH, is the charming Water Village, so named because of all of the mills that operated there in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  Several milled lumber, others grain, and at least one was for fiber – think sheep shearing.  The village never had a large population, but it had its share of makers.  And proudly in the center of it all were the church and the Ossipee Mountain Grange Hall.

Not many granges left in NH, but this has a large, open dance hall on the second floor, and when we first bought our place in 1986, almost 35 years ago, Gerald McDuffy ran it as an antique shop, followed shortly after by Cathy Dragonfly, who took over his place.  Gerald was a wealth of information about Water Village, the people in it, and the way it was many years ago.  He told us the story of the 12 person bob-sled that used to be taken out once or twice a year, when the snow was right, and run down the hill from our place to the bottom of the hill.  We only did it once, and on a much smaller, slower sled.  And we will remember that white knuckled ride as long as we live. 

And on Memorial Day, we remember Gerald and his wife Martha.  Part of the fabric of life in Water Village.

-Richard Oedel, Fine Furniture Masterr

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A week ago, or so it seems, I was out in the woods across the road, looking at standing timber that might become a cabinet or dining table.  And I spy this fallen log in an advanced state of decay.  Obviously this is not going to be my next candidate for a piece of furniture. But it does bring to mind the connectedness of the woodworker and the wood.  If I do not take immediate action to harvest a downed tree, nature takes over.  In this case many hundreds of board feet of prime oak turn into hummus over a period of years.  First the outer bark decays and falls away, then the outer layers, rich in nutrients, serve as the food for this luscious carpet of moss.  Over the next few years, this merges with the forest floor Maybe 50 years from now this oak will just be a line of moss on the ground. 

So my work is to stop that process of decay for a while.  Harvest the wood, mill it into shapes. Join it using processes that have been around for a thousand years, and finish it with a coating that keeps it from decaying further.  It may not last for a millennium, but it will slow the process of aging for that particular tree.

I’m glad to have a hand in that. 

-R.

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From Boston, where I’ve been working for a few days:

When I’m gluing up a large desk top like this one, almost 4 feet by 7 feet, the challenge is keeping the glue liquid long enough for the entire glue-up to take place, and the clamps to go on.  With support structures inside the desktop, and the desire to have no metal in the top, I depend on splines, dominos, biscuits and other devices to keep the entire top aligned.  So I have to work fast, methodically and know in advance that all the parts will fit correctly.  I do a dry run, make sure I like all the joints, and then disassemble the entire piece and apply glue. 

In 20 minutes it has to be together, square, flat, in place and with all the joints perfect.  This one took over 30 clamps.  It was terrifying.

But in the end, the sun was shining, and the glue-up went off without a hitch. Good thing.

Next up – I have to glue up the legs. But being locked down is difficult., so I’m not sure when I will be in the shop again. Maybe June 1?

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How about a photo of a new piece for a client in Boston?

These events are always distracting – I want to be in the shop, making pieces, designing and working on problems to be solved, but this is going to be a great evening!  Music by Honest Millie, a few surprises from the NH Dance Collaboratives, and work by students of NHIA and inmates of both the NH and Maine prison systems.   And a silent auction of Masters’ work to benefit our educational initiatives.

And if you come early, your admission ticket (click this for a ticket) entitles you to entrance to the Museum all day.  (p.s. – I’m talking at 2pm on the development of the studio furniture movement in the US)

Saturday, September 22nd, 5:30 – 9:00 pm

Currier Museum of Art
150 Ash St, Manchester, NH. (50 minutes from Boston)

I hope to see you all on Saturday, for a rousing good time.  I hope you can join us.

-Richard
Co-chair, Furniture Masters

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Friday, September 7, 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Roger Williams Gallery at the New Hampshire Institute of Art\
77 Amherst Street, Manchester, NH.

No photos here until after the event, to pique your interest.  But I can tell you that the legs are gilded in platinum.

But how about a photo of a desk for a client in Boston?

“Flowing Desk” by Richard Oedel – Ebonized Mahogany, leather, custom cast nickel feet.

In the intervening year, I’ve been focused on several projects that I can share with some of you, and will be introducing those over the next month or so in these postings, so watch this space for updates and photos.

But back to Friday – the event at the NH Institute of Art is all about the collaboration between artists and disciplines.  We have selected several students to react to pieces the Furniture Masters have made, and have reached out to a dance collective to work with our pieces as they have done once before.

I hope you can join us.  And I am looking forward to being in contact with all of you on a more consistent basis going forward.

-Richard
Co-chair, Furniture Masters

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We have many pieces of our work on display, some just out of the finishing room!

Join us if you have some time this weekend.

April 8th Saturday 11-8

April 9th Sunday 11-5

Looking forward to seeing you there.

R

“Cornered” Console Table by Richard Oedel

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Dutch Design Week 2016 – Elliot Kendall and Charlotte Pommet

And as you can expect, student work is student work.  Flawed, naive, and immature all describe the work in this part of the exhibition, and as they get more experience, they will become more fully formed, their work will progress, and some of them will become the new design leaders in worldwide design practice.

The piece to the right was strictly an exploration of using wood veneer for structural applications by two students (Elliot Kendall and Charlotte Pommet) working collaboratively.  Interesting work, compelling in its simplicity and its industrial application as well as its form.  I think this is the germ of an idea that will age well and develop into something more.  They experimented with veneer in these ribbon forms, as well as with rolled tubes and laminated D-shaped modules.  Maybe furniture….

Some of the students were experimenting strictly with form or with function –

Dutch Design Week 2016 – Hayo Gebauer

This is a series of surfaces in color and shape designed to hold multiple objects for display.  A graduate from Braunschweig University of Arts, Germany, Hayo Gebauer then moved to Eindhoven for his masters program, graduating this year.

As I walked among the displays, I thought about the diversity of work, the teaching that goes into the program, the pool of students available to the school, and wondered why we don’t have more of this in the US.  Certainly one reason is that the Dutch and EU governments partially fund this education.  But on reflection, I think it has to do more fundamentally with the way the school thinks about design education, and how our schools approach the same subjects.

More of that later. Now to some design work I have been putting off for far too long.

-R.

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