Timber Framing 1/3 or 1/27 cubed scale English cottage.

Timber Framing in history marks the start of using hewn square beams, which are logs with the rounded sides knocked off. This effort in turn spurred ideas of how to construct quality strong wood architecture, one of the ideas being mortise and tenon joinery. However the complex and whimsical timber framing is not seen in history till much later, but a form of timber building called post and beam, which is
a sort of stacking on top of each other, is seen in the earliest of architecture.
I was intrigued to learn about and practice timber framing because I was curious about how materials came into being. Before wood is wood its a tree, and before metal is metal its ore found in rocks. It sounds simple, but the arduous and passionate effort exuded by the early craftsmen and woman of the world is something incredibly mysterious to our current culture of high techno' dependancy. I have nothing against technology itself, but I will admit that I have a lot to say about the way it is being used today.
I spent over two months a couple hours at a time cutting the 112 tenons and carving the 102 mortises. Each joint is joined by a wooden peg, there is no glue or nails. The process got me thinking a lot about what time means. You have to let go of this obsession of finishing the project. I had to dig deeper to find some other force to motivate me to get out there cut and carve repeatedly for hours. I would lose myself thinking about my ancestors and what they might have thought about their connection to the land. I am definitely prone to romanticizing the old world for being something dynamically sound and balanced. However, much of the old world is depicted as being something that we want to get away from. Or that our Ancestors were limited in their humanity. I would argue that there is truth in this paradox and then quickly assert that there was something crucial to our human growth left behind in the industrial/technological revolution.

Misc' drawings

If you refer to earlier posts this is an illustration of a snapshot from the dream I had. Its the dyke of smashed cars holding back the ocean from drawing class assignment at OCAC, to draw a scene from a dream.

The final graphite copy of the collage; Adding details and refinements to coalesce the elements.

 Pretty straight forward collage to sketch from OCAC foundations. Really fun and a lot of potential for creative process stimulation.

 The illusion quality of simply cutting out shapes and playing with shadowing I find really intriguing and fun. It makes me think of that euro movie "The Science of Sleep". I pretty much emptied the pen!

 Its started to look like an ocean so I drew a boat and went from there.

(This shot is not) I started writing my signature because I wanted to practice it since its consistency is 1/50

 This was a project in foundations my first year at OCAC. We were given a day by the next class to empty an archival black pen on a single pice of 16x24 paper. (This shot is flat)

I drew this years ago and saw that my perspective and technique has not changed much but my skill definitely has.

Ink/ water color/ marker big gestures

 They are on about 16x24 inch paper.

I decided to gather up some more drawing to post.

Seed/ Flower/ Fruit of Life Mandalas

 This is the flower of life which typically has two rings around all the smaller circles. The ancients did this in order to keep secret the later stage (fruit of life) from the common practitioner.

 This is the Seed of Life which is the first 7 circles drawn.

Mandalas are most seen in Buddhism and Hinduism traditions. However they reach far and wide around the world. Within Numerology and Sacred Geometry circles they are the starting point for understanding our existence. Speaking of circles, that is just what the Sanskrit word Mandala means, "circle". The sphere is where all of the physical world starts from. Drawing the flower of life has become a new practice for me in understanding the dynamics of the geometry within and during its unfolding. The more I draw these circles the more I am understanding my own life and how an individual such as myself fits into the big picture.

Juniper tree dining table

 The Table has a simple Tung Oil finish and will need to be re-oiled probably every other year. The whole table is wedge and weight secured and breaks down flat, and is easy to move once disassembled.

 I crushed Jade and Jasper rocks in a blender and inlaid the CA glue and crumble mix  into pockets then sanded down.

 I made a steam box and formed this tongue strip of black walnut into the circle trough. All the bow-tie inlays joints are Black Walnut also. I used this table as a stitch joint testing/practice ground. As you can see it needed a lot to prevent further cracking.

 Juniper is one of the oldest tree species and has a lot of interesting qualities. It is very unpredictable to work with. Rocks will get lodged in the wood as it grows and warping is extreme. Not the most desirable table top material but I was determined. I also learned recently that many Juniper tree berries have a natural yeast on their skin that may be used as a yeast extract in making bread! I ate some ;P

 The legs and frame are western maple which is a much more workable wood.

 Completely Hand Hewn cherry log bottom stretcher. I plan to do a lot more hand hewing projects!

This Table was a long term project. I started during my second year at OCAC and finished a year later. It took so long because of relocating and the extensive inlays. Its a great smelling wood similar to cedar.

More projects completed

on the inside of the roof there was black tar residue left over from the original installation... I thought it was a nice touch and reminder ;P

So when we first arrived at the newly remodeled school in 2010, they were still finishing replacing the roofs. They striped all these metal corrugated panels off, and glued a white plastic roof on in its place. I asked and they let me pull some choice pieces from the scrap metal dumpster. I organized them behind the ceramics building and then months later learned about the smoking shelter commission and was able to incorporate roof into the proposal, saving a lot of money and reusing a roof that still had a lot use left in it!

We built this for somewhere between $160 and $200 give or take for gas.

She doesn't smoke, only likes to swing!

Temporary art school smoking shelter comission. Partnered with painter and friend Mathew 'Clopen' O'connor (great guy)

My friend Tristan out of plasticine. 5" tall

I had a dream again recently in 2012 again that actually followed up to this dream like a prequel. Instead of years in the future. The flood had just happened in my home town of Bellingham and a new in-land sea had formed. My wife and I were talking to a realtor and he said that land value had sky rocketed because of all the new beach front...

Dream from 2007 car dyke holding back the ocean.

Here are some more completed projects long over due. Ha

selected items from my first year at Oregon College of Art and Craft 2010-2011