Blue Ulysses Sideboard
The primary goal of this project was to create a showpiece for the entry hall of the clients’ home. It was commissioned by a local couple who requested marquetry imagery featuring white Gardenia flowers and branches that emanate from a central point in the top and flow down the front panels. The piece has two inlayed Blue Ulysses butterflies made of Jet Onyx Reconstituted Stone and Blue Acrylester. The style of the sideboard is loosely based on a Sheraton era demilune sideboard with Federal style inlay added to the legs and is the second demilune sideboard I have done using this marquetry imagery.
Book matched Ash Burl veneer was used for the marquetry background with solid Wenge and Wenge veneer for the trim and foundation. The marquetry flowers are cut in Holly veneer, the leaves in dyed Poplar and the branches in Pau Ferro. All of the marquetry was cut using the boulle or packet method, which requires all the elements of the design be cut simultaneously with the background. The individual components are then sand shaded to create the illusion of depth and shadows. The marquetry was cut using a standard scroll saw and glued with urea formaldehyde glue.
The interior areas are veneered with in Quarter-Sawn Maple to contrast with the Ash exterior, which makes for a bright interior and a surprise for anyone opening the doors. Ash stringing was used for the inlay added to the Wenge legs, which gives the piece a more formal appearance. Vertical grain 1/8” thick Wenge was used to edge the top panel and provide more durable wear resistance than would standard thickness veneers.
This sideboard has four curved front drawers with Maple interiors and bottoms. There are two curved doors mounted on brass knife hinges. The curved front is single uniform curve and was glued up as a bent lamination of 1/8” bending plywood and 1/8” mdf in a vacuum bag. The central curved panel was glued up as a single piece then cut into individual door and drawer fronts before veneering.
The entire sideboard has been finished with satin lacquer inside and outside. This was my fourth piece of marquetry furniture since studying marquetry with both Paul Schurch and Patrick Edwards.
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Detail of the inlayed butterfly in Jet Onyx Reconstituted Stone and Blue Acrylester and the Gardenia flower marquetry
Comments
Very elegant work Craig. Any problems with twist in your curved doors? About how many hours did it all take?
Bravo. Just an amazing execution of an elegant design. Well done.
Thanks for the comments. No problems with twist on any bent lamination I have done so far, probably because of all the layers in the lamination. I think this piece took about 150 hours start to finish including the drawing time for the marquetry. I built it at the same time as another piece of the same shape but different style. That one is at the following link.
http://ctfinefurniture.com/portfolio/cabinets/granite%20sideboard.php
sweet piece craig ... beautiful design, excellent choice of materials and first rate execution ... I particularly like the detail you added at the bottom of the leg. It pulls it all together .... gold star for you ... dan
What an inspiring and awsome peice of work! Beautiful overall curves and flowing design. And the inlay is beautiful as well, not too much detail, but just enouph. The whole piece is well balanced pleasing to the eye.
Really like the flowers and butterflies. I have done a bit of marquetry but this is at a totally different level than what I can do, beautiful. What is the reconstituted stone like to work with and where do you get it?
BStev, I get the reconstituted stone and also mother of pearl from Rescue Pearl in California. http://www.rescuepearl.com JoAnn is very helpful and has a great selection of materials worth experimenting with, her materials are geared toward guitar makers and such but work well in furniture and there are lots of colors available in stone and pearl.
The stone is hard and brittle to cut but can be carefully cut with a scroll saw or by hand with a jewelers saw, just make sure to use dust collection as the dust probably isn't good for you. I have experimented with several different stones and they do cut differently depending upon the variety of stone. Some are softer and others are more prone to chipping. They are also thick and need to be inlayed then filed flush like you would do with mother of pearl. I glue the stone with epoxy colored to match the stone. Hope this helps.
Craig,
Beautiful work, it inspires me to keep at it and raise my own level of work thanks. I would like to be able to do green leaves, what material did you use for them? Is there a way to dye wood green? Thanks for any advice
tom
Tom, I use dyed poplar for all the green leaves. You can get it in a number of shades of green and the color seems to last, at least it hasn't faded on any of the sample pieces I have had laying around for a few years. I haven't tried dyeing my own veneer, there are so many colors available that it doesn't seem necessary, but you can read how to do it in several of the marquetry books. Check B and B Rare Woods or Anita Marquetry for colored veneers, they both have a large selection.
Craig
This is absolutely gorgeous, one of the best examples of "modernizing" a form, keeping the origianl beauty from the original proportions, but truly making a new piece of furniture. The inlay is very well done and particularly not overdone.
Wow,how elegant can a piece get??....looks like a ming dynasty antique from another,gentler time.....Great Job
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