I have finished a new rocker. This one is based on a theme of the rain forest...so I call it, naturally...Rain Forest Rocker.
The primary woods are mahogany and wenge. I wanted it to look voluptuous but refined. The wenge backrests are made from quarter sawn wenge which revealed the intricate pattern that some call partridge, but I think looks more like snakeskin...which I thought would be appropriate to the theme. The tops are inlaid into the headrest and then screwed and pegged out of an abundance of caution.
The headrest features a 24 karat gilded sun disc rising out of the mahogany and on the back side is a carved generic flower...in the rain forest flowers are ubiquitous. I wanted this disc to form a halo around the head of who ever sits there...in the hope this would inspire the sitter to think good thoughts about the rain forest.
The arm rests are unique in two ways. They grow out of the back legs in the way a banana leaf grows from its stem and they undulate like a leaf in a breeze.
But, they are also shaped to match the under side of an arm to create a perfect cradle for the arm as in the carvings of Adam and God's arm that I made based on Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel creation scene.
You can see from the middle picture above, that the seat is 'cello' shaped, and that is based upon the impression a seated person would leave in wet sand...well maybe a seated person with an ample bottom.
The inlays on the sides are based up the designs of the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe and South Africa. They employ colorful geometric designs on their houses and in their textiles. (The Ndebele people are an offshoot the Zulu union that was forged by the mighty King Shaka back in the 16th century.
The tree frog is there for fun, his name is Ovila.
I always hand tool the top edge of my chairs as shown in the third picture. And, finally, for this chair I terminated the recurved rockers in a leaf that is supposed to appear to be sprouting from the rocker. It is a stylized mahogany leaf. The finish on the chair is polymerized tung oil.
There are more pictures in my gallery.
This chair belongs Dr. Stephen Stedman, a former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations who served under Kofi Anan.
I had fun with this chair and loved working in mahogany, it is truly the king of woods as well as the wood of kings.
I would very much like to hear your critique of this chair and would also like to hear your recommendations for changes for the next time I make one of this style.
The primary woods are mahogany and wenge. I wanted it to look voluptuous but refined. The wenge backrests are made from quarter sawn wenge which revealed the intricate pattern that some call partridge, but I think looks more like snakeskin...which I thought would be appropriate to the theme. The tops are inlaid into the headrest and then screwed and pegged out of an abundance of caution.
The headrest features a 24 karat gilded sun disc rising out of the mahogany and on the back side is a carved generic flower...in the rain forest flowers are ubiquitous. I wanted this disc to form a halo around the head of who ever sits there...in the hope this would inspire the sitter to think good thoughts about the rain forest.
The arm rests are unique in two ways. They grow out of the back legs in the way a banana leaf grows from its stem and they undulate like a leaf in a breeze.
But, they are also shaped to match the under side of an arm to create a perfect cradle for the arm as in the carvings of Adam and God's arm that I made based on Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel creation scene.
You can see from the middle picture above, that the seat is 'cello' shaped, and that is based upon the impression a seated person would leave in wet sand...well maybe a seated person with an ample bottom.
The inlays on the sides are based up the designs of the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe and South Africa. They employ colorful geometric designs on their houses and in their textiles. (The Ndebele people are an offshoot the Zulu union that was forged by the mighty King Shaka back in the 16th century.
The tree frog is there for fun, his name is Ovila.
I always hand tool the top edge of my chairs as shown in the third picture. And, finally, for this chair I terminated the recurved rockers in a leaf that is supposed to appear to be sprouting from the rocker. It is a stylized mahogany leaf. The finish on the chair is polymerized tung oil.
There are more pictures in my gallery.
This chair belongs Dr. Stephen Stedman, a former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations who served under Kofi Anan.
I had fun with this chair and loved working in mahogany, it is truly the king of woods as well as the wood of kings.
I would very much like to hear your critique of this chair and would also like to hear your recommendations for changes for the next time I make one of this style.
