Woodworker West Magazine - Fine Woodworking by Blase Mathern Jr

Promoting Craftsmanship in Woodworking in the West since 1988
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January-February, 2013
Woodworker
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WEST
• Arizona Exhibitions & Symposium • Texas Furniture Show
• Wyoming’s Cody High Style • Wood & Weaving in S.L.O.
• Mesa Contemporary Crafts • Bay Area Woodworkers
• Answering Readers’ Questions with David Marks
• WoodCentral.com Turned Ornament Contest
• A Furniture Maker’s Tool Kit, Part 4 by Gary Rogowski
• Profile: Brad Pitt/Frank Pollaro & Blase Mathern, Jr.
News • Events • Exhibits • Clubs • Classes & More
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5 PM
Woodworker
on the Cover
west
DePArtMentS
7 News & Happenings
8 Woodworking Observations
10 WoodCentral.com
17 Opportunities & Happenings
28 On Exhibit
36 Organizational News
38 From David Marks Studio
40 Turning Topics
42 Tools & Techniques
45 Education
54 Craftsman Profile
56 Calendar & Event Index
56 Advertiser Index
57 Subscription Form
58 The Market Place
62 Shavings & Sawdust
Blase Mathern, Jr.
Blase Mathern, Jr. of Wellington, CO is called The Wood
Maestro, because he creates extraordinary furniture. His
latest piece is the Walnut Halo Dining Table (29" h, 72"
w, 48" d), in which the etched glass top is supported by
the sculpted legs and the keystones of the arched ribs.
Read about Blase in a Profile on Pages 54-55.
January 11-12, 2013
Phoenix, AZ
January 25-26, 2013
San Diego, CA
February 8-9, 2013
Portland, OR
February 22-23, 2013
Seattle, WA
For details, call 1-800-327-2520
or visit www.lie-nielsen.com
January-February, 2013
Vol. 26, No. 1
In This Issue. . .
Arizona Exhibitions & Turning Symposium 7
Texas Furniture Makers Show 14
Wyoming’s Cody High Style 22
Wood & Weaving at S.L.O. Art Museum 28
Mesa Contemporary Craft Show 32
S.F. Bay Area Woodworkers 36
From David Marks Studio 38
Answering Readers’ Questions
Turning Topics 40
WoodCentral.com Turned Ornament Contest
Tools & Techniques 42
A Furniture Maker’s Tool Kit, Part 4
by Gary Rogowski
Craftsman Profile 53
Brad Pitt & Frank Pollaro Collection
Blase Mathern, Jr., Furnituremaker
Sawdust & Shavings 62
Wood Replica of Giants Stadium
Perversion in the Woods
One-Stop Hardware & Liquor Store
Rare Shop Found & Crime Blotter Update
HAND TOOL EVENTS ®
• Test our full line of hand tools
• Learn woodworking techniques
• Enter our door prize drawing
January-February, 2013 Woodworker West Page 5
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Profile: Blase Mathern, Jr.
Encircles Entry Door
Walnut, Sycamore
(80" h, 36" w, 2 1 /4" d)
Compound Grace
Walnut, Bird’s-eye Maple
(31" h, 40" dia)
Blase Mathern Jr. of Wellington, CO is called The Wood Maestro, because he
transforms wood into stunning artistic creations. Here is Blase’s story, in his
own words:
I have always had an innate desire to create with my hands. Growing
up in North Dakota, my family instilled in me the values of hard work
and practicality. At a very young age, I began drawing, carving soap,
and making jewelry. My aptitude for woodworking began with my
father in our garage. As I developed my skills, I found that the hand
tools and machinery spoke to me. These early lessons—that beauty
and usefulness are two sides of the same coin—still guide me.
In high school, I excelled in art, and my ceramic work traveled in the
governor’s art show for a year. Upon graduation, I started working
construction and really enjoyed interior finish carpentry, learning to
make and install trim and ballasters. After working for several years
around my home state, I moved to Colorado Springs, CO to take
advantage of the homebuilding boom of the 1980s.
When I found residential construction becoming monotonous, I moved
on to custom corporate work with the Wigand Corporation, as an
architectural woodworker. From the older craftsmen, I learned the
fine art of woodworking and expanded my expertise. In a few years,
I worked my way up to be the “lead man” on such high-end projects
as a domed rotunda library for Bill Gates, a circular reception desk
for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, a horseshoe-shaped
conference table that was featured in Design Solutions Magazine, and an
elliptical-spiral staircase for the President of Victoria’s Secret. My 12
years at Wigand fueled a passion to design and create, leading to the
desire to pursue my own work.
Today, I work alone and approach each project with the attitude of
an artist. My signature woodworking traits are contrasting woods,
curved legs, “old school” joinery, and intriguing design detail
elements. Visualization is like my sixth sense. I let my mind’s eye
direct each project, as the design evolves in order to maximize form
and function. I don’t think in straight lines, but rather in curves, which
is strongly reflected in my work.
Blase Mathern vacuum-bagging a veneered piece.
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3
My first piece as a studio artist was Encircles (left), a solid stave-core
entry door cloaked with Quartered-Sycamore discs on panels of Walnut.
I then undertook a series of tables, my first being Compound Grace (lower
left). The top is covered with Walnut Burl, and the hexagon base was
constructed using compound joinery and veneered with Figured Walnut.
To expand my product line, I undertook cabinetry. Rather than a typical
box, I created a cylinder in Chamber Rose (right), with book matched
Brazilian Rosewood edged in Tiger Maple. The door on the cabinet
front is almost undetectable as the veneer application melts into the
curvilinear shape. Its sister piece, Quilted Chamber, won awards in
several exhibitions, including San Diego’s Design in Wood and Estes
Park’s Lines Into Shapes. Thinking that I needed something with
drawers, I created Satin Cirque (lower right), a barrel-shaped cabinet.
The drawer detail was featured on the cover of the book Fine Wood
Artists Volume Two, as well as being a Design in Wood award winner.
The elliptical-shaped Angel writing desk (below) is covered in bookmatched
Walnut swirl veneer, which depicts an angel in the wood’s
grain. The 1 1 /4" thick solid Walnut apron consists of four sections,
bandsawn from solid stock. The drawer, when closed, is camouflaged
in the Tiger Maple front, detectable only by a hand-carved Walnut
handle. The desk is accompanied by a Walnut chair—using veneer from
the same flitch as the desk top—with a leather seat. This piece won
Exhibitor’s Choice at the 2010 Western Design Conference.
My most recent piece is The Halo Table and Chairs, on the cover. Crafted
from solid Walnut, the outside apron and interior ribs are arched, so that
the glass top rests on the sculpted legs at each corner, on the keystone
of five ribs through the mid section, and on the keystones of the arched
apron. Each rib changes radius and becomes less curved as it climbs up
to the keystone of the apron.
I sell my work through Warrior’s Work and Ben West Gallery in Hill
City, SD, as well as such Internet websites as Custommade.com, Etsy, and
FineWoodArtists.com. I have also invested great effort to create my own
web presence with my website, blasemathernjr.com. I invite you to visit
and see more of my work.
The Angel
Walnut, Tiger Maple
(29" h, 49 1 /2" w, 23" d)
Chamber Rose
Brazilian Rosewood,
Tiger Maple, Ebony
(80" h, 36" w, 2 1 /4" d)
Satin Cirque
African Satinwood,
Walnut
(40" h, 31" w, 21" d)
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