Stem Wood Design

Good morning, please let me know if anyone is receiving friend requests. I think something is fishy with my fb account. Ok thanks

Come visit me in my wood shop while you're here meeting this amazing artist!

The Aero Table
I brought in a professional to get the best images of this project.
Thanks for your beautiful work and support of my work.
Reach Jerry for all of your art reproduction requirements. From product photography to art reproduction and archival prints, he does it all.

Got fright?

CALL FOR 👻 ART!

Submissions open at
MIDNIGHT for our
"CAN'T LOOK AWAY"
Halloween exhibit.
www.thedimeart.com for details and submissions.

It's that time again, these photos make terrific gifts!

What do you do when you can't decide which of my Burlington minis to buy?? You get all four of them, as did Nancy here, who does an amazing job organizing the food truck events at the Burlington waterfront! Thank you, Nancy!!
Besides these four, ANY of my images are available as a "mini" (5x7 framed print with hardware for hanging and standing). Browse the albums on my page and make your selection. These make great gifts for the upcoming holidays, so get your order in now at the LIMITED TIME price of $22!

It's on like Donkey Kong

Check out this family Bluegrass outfit!

Can't wait to share some of the songs we've been working on for Earl Scruggs Music Festival. We already had quite a few Scruggs tunes in our repertoire, but it's been really fun making a special set that pays homage to the great Earl Scruggs!

Yes, the legs go through the table top.

This was the most difficult aspect of assembling the design.

I glued up the table top but left two slots open to accept the table legs.

The open slots will be filled after table top installation with the prefinished tabs which will be glued into position.

Fingers crossed 🤞🏽!

The base for this table consists of the two components which are a mirror of each other. They will be joined together by three stretchers set into a dado on the inner facing surface of each side. The table top will be fastened from underneath onto the stretchers. Each operation becomes more nerve wracking the further along the project gets 🥹

Finished joint cleaned up and ready for finish prior to further assembly. Still plenty of tricky machining in the near future...

This joint will bear the brunt of the weight throughout the life of the table. Limited gluing surface means internal reinforcement. I used 3/8" threaded steel rod with epoxy. I employed my plunge router with a jig to produce perfectly plumb holes to accept the rods. Finished joint will not fail.

After attempting several methods for creating the void, I ended up making multiple passes on my table saw with dado blades, set at 3/16" high to remove half of the 3/8" dimension for the aluminum.

The table design will feature 3/8" aluminum plate sandwiched between the wood on the corners of the base. Primarily a design element, the aluminum will also add tremendous strength to the joint. A lot of trial and error settling on a method to create a perfectly machined void to accept the aluminum.

Rough cutting parts involves selecting what boards to use where and how to arrange the individual parts to be joined for the most aesthetically pleasing effect. Second photo shows boards for table top, third and fourth are photos of hand fabricated aluminum design elements I'll be adding to the piece, which you will see in upcoming posts.
Stay tuned...

The next step is to procure suitable material. For this project I will purchase twice as much lumber as is required. Many tricky cuts and joinery mean an unusual amount of potential waste. My client has specified Sapele (sah-pee-lay) for this project. I've procured the material from a purveyor of top quality kiln dried lumber, Matt is the outlet store manager and is laid back, knowledgeable and easy to work with.
These boards have been acclimating in my shop for several months.
Time to start rough cutting the components.

Many of my designs begin with a very quick sketch, and I will often begin building without further renderings.
If the design is a commission, I will furnish my client with a detailed drawing.
This mid century design will be a very challenging build with multiple angles, precision machining and plenty of opportunity for waste. Watch this project to completion over the next week or so...

I have 2 pieces in the "Facial Recognition" exhibit currently on display at the Dime.

"Spark"
Rusted Wire/Wood
2023

Matisse on Matisse
Acrylic/graphite on Ticket stub.
2023
(with detail)

I haven't been excited about film photography in some time.
That all changed after viewing the .filmlab website.

Overhead and detail of some smaller pieces I've been working on and will have at this weekend at the Trenton City Museums' Holiday Boutique. Saturday & Sunday Noon-6.

SNEAK PEEK 👁
Solid Walnut and Wenge with handmade olive/oil dish. I know you won't want to cover this beauty with anything but trust me it looks better covered in nosh. Available tomorrow at in Kennett Square, PA.

A few photos of a small project I finished over the summer. This handicap workstation was designed and built where shelving was removed. In addition to the solid Cherry desktop, the job involved subfloor and carpet installation as well as new baseboard trim and paint. It was really cool stepping back in time to add a modern convenience.

Some photos of a small project I finished over the summer. Fabricate and install a solid cherry desktop for the handicap accessible work stations in the Burlington City Library.
It was really cool stepping back in time to add a modern convenience.

"The Offering"
My carved and painted wood sculpture was accepted into the annual Mercer County Artists exhibit at
Opening reception Wednesday, the exhibit will be up until August 24th, come see this terrific show!

Submit your photos, support the Arts!

This is my photo, I took it in Pat Calderone gararge in about 2015, I will have it in the exhibit. Lets see some of yours, register at www.thedimeart.com today!

“White Chair”
Apple iPhone 5s
Cropped /Noir filter

“What’s an f-stop”?
Smartphone photography exhibit deadline for entries is January 15th at midnight. 3 entries per person, scroll to events on website to register. Website link bio line.

Like many craftspeople, I am also a visual artist. Jasper Johns has always been one of my “art heroes” who has influenced me in my own artistic journey. The current exhibit at Mind/Mirror, a retrospective of Mr Johns work is a brilliant show, maybe my favorite. The first five photos are from the exhibition, the last three are my works inspired by this American genius.

I am working on my Dog art, are you?

Calling all Dog and Animal art for our upcoming exhibit-
A portion of our proceeds will go to the Burlington County Animal Shelter. All mediums accepted, link in bio for registration and details.