Intarsia artists?

[Travis]

I was just curious how many people do intarsia, segmentation, inlay, marquetry or lath art?

 

I haven't done any myself, but I'd like to try my hand at intarsia and segmentation and lath art. It looks like a lot of fun. I'm thinking this summer I'll start with segmentation. I'd also love to try lath art. That's such a cool art form, too.

[Gray]

silly question. but what is lath art?

[Handi]

@Gary: I think Travis is refuring to a Lathe... if you are Unfamilure with a Lathe, a Machine with Horizontal Shaft and Mandral, It Spins your Blanks as they call them, and you make General Table Legs, Chair legs, Stair Case Railing, anything that has a Round Contour...

 

It's the Machine they use to make Pool Ques and Baseball bats also.

[ljfrompa]

google it...

 

it's pretty neat, but looks like a lot of work!

http://lathart.blogspot.com/

[Handi]

Ok, I feel a little out of Place now ROFL, i should've known it was Lath instread of Lathe ROFL.

 

OOOOOOOPS. Maybe my eyes are going just as bad as my Hearing.

 

HAHAHAHA

[Travis]

I'd love to get a lathe. I'm saving my pennies and hope to buy one this year. But I guess we'll see. I also gotta sneak it past my wife. But, I think she's on to me...LOL

 

I was actually referring to the folk art called Lath Art. Lath art uses strips of lath (the strips of wood used to keep plaster on the walls in old homes) to create pictures. You can read more about it here. I've also written a few other articles on the subject, too. You can find them under the Lath Art catagory of the blog. Anyway, lath art shares simlar properties of marquetry and intarsia. Where marquetry and intarsia uses grain direction and species of wood to indicate detail, lath art uses the direction of strips of wood to determine detail. It's cut with a scroll saw, band saw, or similar. The lath is either painted, dyed, or stained to create the colors. Its really a really neat artform. I really enjoy like the rustic folk art styles.

[Gray]

thats really neat. reminds me of the artwork on the wall of a seaside resort or restarant. i use to have a whole pile of lath. but i threw it out when i cleand the garage last summer. wish i had it now.

[Clayton717]

I do intarsia. It is becoming my favorite thing right now. It's addicting. You start with a bunch of pieces of wood and after they are all shaped and sanded they become an awesome piece of "art". My largest piece so far was 15 1/2" x 20 1/2" and consisted of 122 pieces.

Clayton

[Travis]

I do intarsia. It is becoming my favorite thing right now. It's addicting. You start with a bunch of pieces of wood and after they are all shaped and sanded they become an awesome piece of "art". My largest piece so far was 15 1/2" x 20 1/2" and consisted of 122 pieces.

Clayton

 

Oh wow! I'd love to see a picture of that! You should upload a few of your pieces to your User Gallery! What's your favorite subject matter?

[Clayton717]

I have several patterns right now I'm trying to find the time, mostly animals(wildlife) but The one I refered to in my other post was of Christ. I will post that in my user gallery, along with a couple others.

Clayton

[Gray]

boy, that turned our real nice. i really like the folds in his clothes. tell me you didn't give it away! that one you got to hold on to! :P

[Travis]

I have several patterns right now I'm trying to find the time, mostly animals(wildlife) but The one I refered to in my other post was of Christ. I will post that in my user gallery, along with a couple others.

Clayton

 

Those all turned out great. I think my favorite is Christ too. Well done!

 

Here are the links to some of Clayton's work:

 

[Clayton717]

boy, that turned our real nice. i really like the folds in his clothes. tell me you didn't give it away! that one you got to hold on to! :P

I've made 7 of them(Christ) so far and getting ready to start # 8. I have give one away as a Christmas gift to my mother in law.

Clayton

[Gray]

boy, that turned our real nice. i really like the folds in his clothes. tell me you didn't give it away! that one you got to hold on to! :P

I've made 7 of them(Christ) so far and getting ready to start # 8. I have give one away as a Christmas gift to my mother in law.

Clayton

 

wow. 7 of them! i don't blame them for wanting them. i'm not sure id have the patience to do 7, tho. good job

[AirNationalGuardMom]

Beautiful job on all of them Clayton.

Linda

[spirithorse]

Beautiful work, Clayton,

I began doing intarsia a few years ago and really enjoy it but, completed projects started piling up

and the living room can only hold so many, LOL!

Now I really enjoy fret-work patterns but, don't like spending several hours (Like 10 and up) to do

a fret-work. I keep my patterns pretty simple and enjoy cutting the less complicated ones.

Now it seems everyone thinks he has to be a Jeff Zaffino and put 1200 cuts in a pattern.

I've cut three of his because I liked the subject matter but, many of those cuts are just there to

test the person cutting rather than for the sake of the pattern itself. I think that's a shame.

Besides, why spend 18 hours cutting a one-dimensional fretwork pattern when you can do an intarsia pattern

in that amount of time with much more color and dimension?

Sorry to be so long winded but, that's my opinion on that subject.

God Bless! SpiritHorse

[amazingkevin]

Clayton you've earned the title of an intarsin,you've gone the extra mile and your work is outstanding !

[Jim Finn]

I do a lot of inlay and some Intarsia.....

[amazingkevin]

segmentation and intarsia for me.

[trailfndr]

My works are posted in my Gallery.  I do more intarsia than anything else, but am beginning to do more basic scrolling.

[Birchbark]

The lath art is very interesting to me.  The patterns seem more complicated than need be to me tho.  Or is it just me?  The link in your post doesn't work Travis, but i am going to search some more of the lath art on my own.  Really looks cool, folksy, artsy and saleable to me.  Could be quick and lots of freedom in design, style and ability IMO

 

Russell

[Uncle Ricky]

I do segmentation so far, some day I hope to be doing intarsia slso

[heppnerguy]

I started with intarsia because it appealed to me. I was unintereted on scrolling because of what i had seen scrolling to be, sort of a silouette of something with no shaping..just didn't like it. Then I saw a, what looked like a wooden/woven basket that sparked my interest so I researched it and found there were many wonderful things out there to scroll and besides it didn't take so long to cut/sand/shape and finish, as intarsia did. so now I do about 90 percent scrolling and  10  percent intarsia. I love it all and enjoy making gifts for every occasion for my family and friends

[Bishop]

Travis

I have tried both segmentation and intarsia and they are both a wonderful way to produce beautiful pieces of art.

Segmentation is done by gluing a pattern to one piece of wood, usually a light colored soft wood, and then cutting all the pieces one after the other. They are all cut from the same piece of wood and the wood grain is all going the same direction.

The pieces can be sanded and contoured and raised or lowered to enhance the appearance of the project and give it depth and dimension.  The pieces can then be colored using paint or dies such as food color. Food color will allow the grain of the wood to show through and it can be thinned with water for a lighter look. You can also mix them to get almost any color you want.

Segmentation will give you the confidence to maybe try intarsia as you learn how to sand and add depth and dimension to your projects.

 

Many woodworkers have looked into the history of intarsia but sadly we know very little about the fascinating art of intarsia - and really nothing before the 13th or 14th century. We do know for certain that intarsia was practiced in Italy from the 13th Century and in parts of Germany in the 15th and 16th Century. We know that it was used alongside carving and inlay - often practiced by the same craftsmen and sometimes with remarkable skill considering the tools they had available.

The advent of the industrial age and the development of the scroll saw have changed how intarsia is made. What once was done by laying thin pieces of wood in a carved bed is now cut from ¾†thick solid wood.

Selecting different types of wood, using their natural grain patterns and colors to create the different colors in the pattern, create intarsia today. Each piece of the project is individually cut, shaped, and sanded before fitting them together like a jigsaw puzzle. Depth can be added to a project by raising or lowering the pieces and they can be contoured and sanded. Once glued together, a layer of finish is applied and the project is complete.

 

Here are a few ways that are used to cut intarsia patterns.

 

Multiple patterns: Make enough copies (5 - 10) of the original so you can cut them up to get a good copy (not cut on the saw lines) of each and every piece. Glue these individual pattern pieces to their proper wood selections and cut out, fit, shape, sand and glue together.

 

Paper template: Make a copy of the pattern and cut all the pattern pieces out (cutting on the saw lines) with a scissors. Use spray glue to attach to the wood and cut around all pattern pieces. Fit, shape, sand and glue together.

 

Template: Make a copy of the pattern and lightly spray glue on the back and attach it to a suitable template material (1/8" Baltic birch plywood or acrylic). After cutting out all pieces, remove the paper pattern and lightly sand the edges and bottom. Select the wood for each pattern piece. Place the template to take advantage of the grain pattern on each piece and draw around the template. Cut all pieces-fit, shape, sand and glue together.

 

Tracing the pattern: Make a copy of the pattern so as not to ruin the original. Place the pattern over the piece of wood you wish to use making sure to take advantage of its color and grain variations. While holding the pattern in place at the corner slip the carbon paper under the paper. Trace around the piece you want to cut out with a sharp pencil or pen. Cut out the piece and all the others by following the drawn lines- fit, shape, sand and glue together.

 

Some variations to the above procedures are (1) After cutting one piece; draw a new cut line on the next pattern using the first piece. Continue doing this with the rest of the pieces or groups of pieces. (2) Cut the pieces on the outside of the lines and then put them together (tape or glue) and resaw or sand to fit. Continue resawing or sanding until all pieces fit.

 

We cut our projects using a different method. If you have a copy of CW&C Feb 2013 check out the Rise and Shine article.

If anyone is interested in a segmentation or intarsia challenge please let us know. Give us an idea of the subject matter and we will design a pattern and help you complete the project no matter what way you choose to cut the project.

The picture The Fishing Hole is the one we are working on now, it measures 17†X 22†and uses only 5 different wood types. The color of the fish is from white to black and is all natural poplar.

 

We have not tried inlay, marquetry or lath art but did see some info on the net that might help if you decide to try it

Homer & Carol Bishop

 

 

 

[gator]

i meet judy gale first time she did a wood magazine article 25 years ago in lufkin tx her home town. i did a lot of intarsa back then but when i stopped wood working 15 years ago i never started back up havent done any. may need to do a few pieces to remember what it was like