Building Images with Wood

The process of marquetry seems to be a bit of a marvel to many of the folks who look at my work. I like to offer clients a description of the process so that they understand it and can appreciate the work I put into each piece. For me, marquetry is a skill I learned almost twenty years ago that allows me to play with furniture beyond the design of the overall piece. I feel that marquetry allows furniture to become art in a way no other woodworking technique does. The infinite variety of veneers, colors, grain patterns and visual textures insure that every piece is completely unique and unable to be duplicated.

Marquetry is like a puzzle. It has many pieces that make up a whole image. I take a lot of time working to develop the images I use. I study the subject that I want to do in marquetry, whether it is a bird of a fishing rod. I have to see it in a way that can then be represented in marquetry. The images need to feel right to me and have contrast in color and texture. Often I will do a photographic study in black and white. From my pictures, I can begin to draw the images in the form of a mosaic, showing me “pieces” which form the whole.

I strive to relate the imagery that I do in marquetry to the furniture in which I inset it. This means that when I am building my furniture, I spend time studying the boards in their rough form to find interesting texture or grain patterns. I will sometimes see a knot pattern I can use to represent a pool of water or ripples emanating from a fish jumping. The whole plan for the imagery can change if I find something in a board that has so much interest that it has to be incorporated.

When I am ready to begin creating the marquetry, I take out my bundles of veneer woods and spread them out in my workshop. I have over 25 different species of woods from forests throughout the world. Years ago, a generous gift from an old friend, a wood collector and marquetry artist himself, greatly enlarged my collection of veneer. Most of the veneers are over 75 years old and are quite rare today in their size and beauty. With the veneers covering every horizontal surface in the shop, I study the colors, the grain patterns and other subtle qualities. I carefully choose the veneers that I will use to represent the different “pieces” of the image.

Using a scroll saw with an exquisitely thin blade, I begin the process of building the image by cutting the first piece. I lay the next veneer over the top and cut the joint between the two at one time. The next adjoining veneer is laid again over the top and that join cut. With this step by step process and with a tilt of my scroll saw table that creates a wedge effect, I can achieve joints that have no gap at all between the pieces. Each piece of veneer has to be laid over the one below so that the orientation of the grain, the shades of color, the visual texture all come together well in the final image. As the image grows in size, I temporarily hold the pieces together with a special tape. If the image is complicated or extensive, I will make sections of the image and then, using a similar process, join the sections together to build the whole.

Once the image is complete and if it is to be inset into the solid wood of a piece of furniture, I clamp it firmly onto the surface. With a sharp blade, I score the solid wood by hand along the perimeter of the image. I remove the wood where the image is to be inset using a router with a small bit and by hand with a chisel. The process of gluing the image onto the surface of the furniture can make or break the result. Once the glue is dry, I unclamp the work. I carefully remove the tape from the top of the image by hand first and then with a sander. The image, in its final form, is revealed for the first time. With the first swipe of oil across the surface, the true colors and figure of all the different species seem to almost burst from the surface. Using a natural oil from Germany, I apply many coats. Each coat I hand rub to a smooth, silky finish.

Once the piece is completely done, I like to take time to savor it in my workshop. It gives me time to enjoy the piece and to critique it. Finishing a piece is often bittersweet. The state of mind and challenge I experience during the process is what I love about creating my furniture. When a piece is done, the journey is over. On the other hand, seeing the reaction of the client when I deliver their furniture is truly one of the great joys of doing this work.

David Struempler

February, 2001