I love making fine art, but when the right creative opportunity shows up, I can’t seem to stop myself from developing new designs. On this page, I’ll occasionally feature interesting ideas, designs, projects, and products that I’ve been working on.
The JOY Project
Everyone can agree that these are challenging times in our society. As they say, Democracy is advanced citizenship. Everyone needs to pay close attention and participate. But, with that negative energy around, it takes a heavy toll on each of us, personally. To keep spirits up, I’ve found that a little personal therapy was in order and set out to create a series of designs with the goal of putting more positive energy into the air.
One of these projects is the JOY Project. The idea is simple. Create and share reminders of that most positive of feelings with friends, family and strangers: Joy. I designed a simple charm/token that you carry in your pocket, purse or bag. In four years, I’ve handed out over 8300 to pretty much everyone I meet. In return, I’ve received many wonderful smiles and promises to share JOY with others who need it even more.
So that even more JOY is shared, the design is avilable to everyone. If you have a 3D printer, you can make and share JOY, yourself. I encourge you to spread the message far and wide. Visit my Thingiverse page to download JOY and other free designs.
The BARN Workbench
In a previous life, I was a furniture maker, so it shouldn’t be surprising that I’m a bit of a workbench fan. To a woodworker, a great workbench is the best tool your shop. In 2017, I took on a volunteer project to design and build nine workbenches for BARN, the Bainbridge Island Artisan Resource Network’s, woodworker’s group. I created a new Roubo style bench that features a leg vise on the front of the bench.
Of course, I had to try out a few new ideas and nudge workbench design a few steps ahead. So, I created 10 individually carved vise chops, so that each bench would have its own special character. What you see are the results in both rough and finished form.
