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Duration: 14 min., 55 sec.

Grain. Direction. Ebonizing and grain texture. Change of direction. Sculpted curves and flow. Building process. Flow. Chatoyance. Sam Maloof and inspiration… Woodworking in America, St Charles, Ill.

Brian Boggs uses “…the wood’s grain…to complement the overall piece…”  And he makes the components of his chairs flow together, to make a single statement. He uses curves in the design, and the grain of the wood, as part of the design.

In this session I gained better insight into things I should be doing with grain as part of the overall design of a piece of furniture. Does the grain direction work where the leg meets the stretcher? Or does it detract from the overall design? Is it supporting a curve, of flowing against it? And so on.

Using a few examples of chairs he shared with the audience, I focused on highlighting a few key ideas in the edited video of Boggs’ session. As a result, I hope to have caught the spirit of composing with the grain, in the way he intended to convey in his session. If I did not, it is my fault. But listening to him I realized he loves making chairs, and he loves composing with grain as he designs.

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