This was Dad's first attempt at an inlay in 1935. He used a utility knife and embedded the veneer in a piece of fir plywood. This piece knocked around the back room of the old shop in Penrose for years. The back of it was used as a cutting board for trimming veneer or cutting leather strips. Ann and I used it as a serving tray for her dishes at a high tea in the back room. I was totally surprised to find out that this primitive piece that I have always loved was appraised at a higher value than some of his newer pieces.
Amazing, isn't it? Good beginning for this blog - where the desire to create pictures from wood began with our dad!
ReplyDeleteI remember this piece, however I don't remember using it for our "tea tray". There were several pieces that I remember where we treated them like old friends - nothing special, just what Dad, and often times Mom, made to help make home function better or to decorate the walls. There were "throw away" pieces and times spent sitting on Mother's lap running the jig saw that were so much fun. The only time I ever remember being chastised for being around the projects in the shop was when I would get dangerously close to a saw or when I knocked the pieces of a picture out of place. Even then, there was never a feeling that all was lost. It was great training for later years when my children would want to join in on a project.
ReplyDelete