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A couple of weeks ago, Sam installed the balcony he was working on back in September and October ... It was a very cool project with some somewhat daunting challenges. Build it here ... install it there, 15 in the air ... Make it safe ... That kind of stuff. I swung by last week and took some pictures ... Looks like it was made to be there .. Click the photos to enlarge them ..
The platform with its expanded steel floor and outline of the rails
Sam had made a couple of sketches but mainly, on this one, worked as the spirit and his vision moved him ..
Until he had had basic decorative design figured out ...
Next were the support brackets with some ideas sketched in ...
Back to the circular elements of the main railing
and then a test assembly on the wall of the shop ...
All welded up and ready to prime and paint
One of the fishies on the floor of the balcony ...
From afar
From below
From the end, showing the 4 supporting brackets
"Architects + Artisans is a sophisticated, well-informed provider of content, images, and knowledge concerning excellent architecture, artisanship and sustainability for the 21st century. It is not just about designers – but about the people and products that make a well-designed place ring true. It is written and edited by J. Michael Welton, whose work on architecture, design and travel has appeared in The New York Times, Interior Design, Dwell, Green Source and Travel + Leisure. "Michael titled his post about us Clients as Friends, Friends as Clients. Since were currently working on a wall of cabinets and a fireplace surround for our friends who own Mother Myricks Confectionery, his post is very appropriately titled. Our first project with Ron and Jacki was in 1983 when they opened their candy store in Manchester and we have been friends ever since. I appreciate his publishing our work and encourage you to check out his blog.
The Mother Myricks Confectionery store in Manchester, Vermont, 1983
Our current project for them, a wall of bookshelves, a place for a tv and a fireplace surround ... It will be installed this week sometime ...
this evening was the opening for a new show called dorset artists...then and now. an extraordinary selection of works by 22 artists living and working in the immediate dorset area, as well as an equally incredible assembly of works from private local collections that represent 26 artists from dorsets past. the works of the now folks were selected and curated by georgine macgarvey-holman, ( one of the nows ), while loans for the then works were arranged and assembled by barbara melhado. putting on a show like this is an incredible feat of organization and i would say this is easily the most impressive collection of works assembled and presented by unpaid volunteers that i have ever seen. my hat is off. the opening was well attended and people were extremely interested in both the variety and quality of the works on display. its impossible for me to cover them all here, and i would hate to slight anyone; essentially, these are the photos that came out the best as i casually strolled through the show with my camera late friday afternoon and today. you have to see this show in person to really appreciate it and youve got until september 8th to do it. come on by. 11-6 daily, except mondays. the show is located on the green, in beautiful downtown dorset, next to the dorset union store ... click the photos to enlarge them ...
an overview of the mission ...
some then folks ... cleade enders on the left... i think those are humphrys on the right
more thens ... remarkable stuff .. love the woman with the trumpet by lorenzo hatch ... also there, david parsons, john lillie and claude dern ...
a jay connachoice ... a local artist famous for his homer like seascapes, who was as good as they get
sam and jen, getting their history lesson
and sam and i on the bridges bench ... metalwork by sam, woodwork by will, inspiration by my grandfather ...
nancy howe russell on the left;
pam marron left, barbara rowles, right
penny viscusi
arthur jones
and, they were kind enough to include us furniture makers ... above, william laberge
and here, steve holman of holman studios .. also in this photo, john pitcher on the left and ace manley on the right. john and his wife sue westin are proprietors of the gallery on the marsh, just down the road on route 30.
and thats georgine, bursting on the scene, wrapping up the final details on friday. our table and chairs are in the foreground ...
and these are my woodburnings, out and about from the studio for maybe only the second time ever. im sitting the show sunday and ill try to capture a few more of the highlights then. come on by ...
Yowza! ... What am I reading now ??? Hmmm ... Im all over the map these days. Click the pictures to enlarge them ... Upper left corner is David Mathiass excellent new book on Greene & Greene furniture ... Im kind of picking my choice through it, savoring it a couple pages at a time, admiring his detailed photos and written observations on both the Greenes and the talented makers of their designs, the Hall brothers. Without the brothers talents, the Greene brotherss furniture would, in my humble opinion, have looked assuredly different.
And then a serious article in Rolling Stone on glacial melting ... absolutely frightening ... ditto with BP and bankruptcy ... These folks are digging pretty deep and doing some excellent writing about it ... Im a returning RS subscriber who lapsed when Hunter Thompson died a few years back ... Now I remember .... They are good.
And lastly .. one of my clients sent me this one ... Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford. Crawford is an educated man with several advanced degrees who has gone from working in a think tank (knowledge work), to working with his hands as a motorcycle mechanic and electrician. He compares knowledge work with manual work and makes the point that the manual kind has been somewhat demeaned in todays hierarchy of education goals. He discusses the kind of diagnostic thinking and brain action that come with working and learning with your hands ... Hes preaching to the choir here, and it was a bit of a heavy sled, but I stuck with it. Hes got a point. I find my work as a designer/craftsman/builder/maker/customer relations person totally and completely engaging. I didnt need to read the book to know that, but its nice to have it pointed out to me and my employees by an obviously very smart person, that we are indeed on the road to intellectual fulfillment if not that big pile of dollars in the sky. I cant imagine myself behind a desk full time, or in a situation where, at the end of the week, I couldnt point to some concrete evidence of the effort I had put in for that week ... Its Friday; it was a good week; we worked on a ton of different stuff and I feel really good about all of it.
the top table started with this monster slab, about 11 long and 3+ inches thick. we learned a few tricks on this one. it was a heavy one .... 
there was one sort of large (+/- 3/8ths") bolt in the slab that we drilled a bit and pounded a bit until it was below the surface enough to fill it so it looked like some of the other knots in the area. pretty good in the end.
