Free Form Sculpted Wood Boxes
Making wooden boxes came as a complete surprise to me. I have always loved and collected them, but considered wood a hard and angular medium - much like glass, which I attempted and discarded. Fabric was always my medium for artistic expression. My husband, Jim, was always the woodworker. He had made some beautiful boxes for me.
Then I found a book that explained the techniques for making wood boxes with a bandsaw, and was entirely intrigued that a box could be fashioned in such a way. So, I bought the book for Jim. He wasn't nearly as excited as I was.
At the time the bandsaw was not a tool with which I was familiar; but I did know my way around the scroll saw. I started making tiny boxes using the bandsaw techniques. They were ridiculous little things ... but I was hooked! It was an easy step up to the bandsaw.
While I was delighted to learn the 'how' of making the boxes, I was not impressed with the examples. When I started to design my own works, I wanted each piece to be meaningful, to evoke a positive feeling or pleasant memory.
Making a box that is both fanciful and functional poses interesting challenges, in design and in execution. Matching the shape with the wood is always an exercise in patience and imagination.
At times, the spirit of the wood, its grain and organic anomalies influence and inspire the shape of the box. Other times, the shape is the inspiration and a glorious piece of wood must be found to fit the vision. Often, there is the balancing of both forces.
All of these bandsaw boxes
are my original designs, individually handcrafted by me. My woods of choice have been pine and
butternut. Pine has such beautiful knots, streaks, and grains. Butternut
has a warmth and friendliness.
© Kathy Sawada. All rights reserved.
© Kathy and Jim Sawada. |
