Walnut, approximately 36”l x 30”w x 18”h, wipe on polyurethane finish
I bought four of these small slabs (from Provenance in Philadelphia), all cut from the same tree, because the shape and the grain and figure appealed to me. I also liked the stark white of the sap wood. But how to support it? I started out by committing to a semi-sculptured base, gluing up thick pieces of walnut that I meant to carve, going for an “organic” look (a crude early-career Wendall Castle, perhaps). But soon before completing the last of the work prior to going at the glue-up with my grinders and gouges, I abandoned the idea of a carved base and went in the totally opposite direction: simple legs. Why? Really, such decisions, for me, are made more out of feel than thought—the legs just “looked right” and the carved base, as I conceived of it, did not—but if I had to explain the decision more articulately, I’d say that the carved base would have taken away from the focus of the piece, which I wanted to be the top. I did not want the viewer’s eyes to be drawn downward to the base. The legs create more “air” beneath the top and it seems to float a bit. That said, I’m not sure that I’m done with some other type of base. I’m also toying with the idea of butt-joining two of the boards at the narrow ends, although joining them at the “Y” ends and maybe leaving a cavity also intrigues me. Something to think about.
