Heavily illustrated with beautiful color photographs, this book explores the lives and work of 29 of the most distinguished American furniture makers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Beginning with Wharton Esherick, James Krenov, Sam Maloof, and George Nakashima, who serve as the first generation of modern creators of craft furniture, it continues with 25 contemporary furniture makers who carry on the tradition today. A biography of each is given along with examples of their work.
In Furniture with Soul, author David Savage explores the philosophies, careers, and pivotal moments of struggle and inspiration for today’s most talented and influential woodworkers. He traveled throughout the U.S. and Britain to interview these renowned artists, including John Makepeace, John Cederquist, Jack Larimore, Judy Kensley McKie, Michael Hurwitz, Tom Hucker, Rupert Williamson, Gary Knox Bennett, and Peter Danko. With a telling eye and refreshing intimacy, he reveals their thinking, creative processes, and rise to prominence. He takes the reader into their workshops and their hearts. Savage seeks to illuminate the soul of the artists’ work, and the influences and experiences that shaped them.
Furniture Studio explores the origins, methods, results, and influence of the unique and highly successful furniture design and fabrication studios offered by the University of Washington Department of Architecture. The furniture program, initiated by Andris Vanags, is an immersion into the role of materials, design, and making in architectural education. Students directly engage the physical properties of materials, and the knowledge gained through this engagement enriches the design and fabrication process. The experiences of its graduates reveal that the studio fosters creative thinking that truly integrates design and making. Ochsner presents historical background to shop-based courses, including furniture studio; traces the careers of four representative graduates of the program; and suggests implications from this program for architectural education and individual achievement beyond the University of Washington. Eleven students and the projects they created in the winter 2009 studio are profiled, and the book contains a fully illustrated catalogue of exemplary student projects from 1989 to the present. Illustrations and descriptions throughout the book showcase the heirloom-quality projects created by the students, many of which won awards in competitions. "Jeffrey Ochsner has written a book that will be invaluable to furniture historians, furniture makers, architects, and design educators. The book's great strength is its telling of a local, personal story within a broader context of architectural pedagogy and philosophy." -Edward Cooke, author of Making Furniture in Pre-Industrial America Jeffrey Karl Ochsner is professor of architecture and associate dean for academic affairs, College of Built Environments, University of Washington. He is the author of Lionel H. Pries, Architect, Artist, Educator and coauthor of Distant Corner: Seattle Architects and the Legacy of H. H. Richardson.
"Arts & Crafts" has come to be a name for a style of decorative arts, but just try to pin it down. It's a huge challenge, because it encompasses such a broad variety of work. Early pieces, such as some of those by William Morris, draw from more ornate Victorian artifacts. Contrast these with the simpler, medieval-inspired work of Morris, the austere elegance of chairs and built-in cabinetry by Voysey, or furniture produced by the Barnsleys--never mind the clear Art Nouveau influences in much of Mackintosh's work. It quickly becomes clear just how broad this period in design history really is. English Arts & Crafts Furniture explores the Arts & Crafts movement with a unique perspective on furniture designs inspired by English Arts & Crafts designers. Through examination of details and techniques as well as projects, you'll learn what sets English Arts & Crafts apart and gain a deeper understanding of the overall Arts & Crafts movement and its influences. In this book you'll find: • Insight into the history and culture surrounding the Arts & Crafts movement • An examination of influences that set English Arts & Crafts designers including William Morris, Charles Francis Annesley Voysey, Ernest Gimson, Ernest and Sidney Barnsley, and Charles Robert Ashbee apart from their American counterparts • 3 complete furniture projects that illustrate traits representative of English Arts & Crafts: a Voysey chair, a hayrake table designed by Ernest Gimson and a sideboard design from the Harris Lebus company, England’s largest furniture maker at the time Equal parts design survey and project book, English Arts & Crafts Furniture is a must-read for any serious fan of Arts & Crafts furniture.
In the current world of twentieth-century design collecting, the trend has shifted away from accessible, mass-manufactured modernist furniture and toward designs that were custom-made or produced in very limited editions, with emphasis on American studio design of the 1940s to the 1990s. In contrast to the mass-produced mid-century furniture by Knoll and Herman Miller, American studio designs of the same period focused on novel forms and exquisite craftsmanship. Ranging from the organic shapes of George Nakashima and Vladimir Kagan to metalworks by Paul Evans, these limited production designs were highly sought after in their days by original tastemakers and movie stars. In the last decade, a revival for these rare designs began with connoisseurs such as Tom Ford.Modern Americanais the first full survey of the designs of this prolific but forgotten period, bringing to life again the works of Samuel Marx, Billy Haines, Wendell Castle, T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Karl Springer, James Mont, and many others -- including J.B. Blunk, Michael Coffey, Wharton Esherick, Arthur Espenet Carpenter, Sam Maloof, Jack Rogers Hopkins, Paul Evans & Philip Lloyd Powell, Vladimir Kagan, George Nakashima, Silas Seandel, Charles Hollis Jones, Philip & Kevin LaVerne, Tommi Parzinger, Harvey Probber, Edward Wormley, John Dickinson, Arthur Elrod, and Paul Laszlo.
FURNITURE OF THE AMERICAN ARTS & CRAFTS MOVEMENT by David M. Cathers. Here is the long awaited, updated & revised edition of David M. Cathers' groundbreaking book on American Arts & Crafts furniture. Originally published in 1981, it provided authoritative information on Gustav Stickley's Craftsman Workshops, the L. & J. G. Stickley Furniture Company & the Roycroft Shop. The book was the first to trace the style &, through a richly detailed text & over 200 illustrations, provide a means for identification, dating & subjectively evaluating many individual pieces. This extensively illustrated book is an invaluable reference for anyone interested in the history of American decorative arts. To order: Turn of the Century Editions, P. O. Box 908, Philmont, NY 12565. 518-672-4639.
