Island Shelf
Overview
This project began not with a blueprint, but with a spark of imagination—a journey defined by discovery rather than planning. What originated as a solitary carving of a lizard soon demanded a greater purpose, evolving organically from a simple figure into a shelf more complex than it looks. While the undertaking grew far beyond its initial scope, the piece itself guided the process, revealing its needs layer by layer until the final form emerged as a testament to the joy found in unscripted creation.
Materials & Construction
Materials:
African Padauk, Australian Lacewood, Caribbean Mahogany
Construction Notes:
The lizard started as a solitary piece hewn from a single block. That was the only plan–just a lizard to hang on the wall. Alone it might have had an acceptably decorative role, yet it didn't feel like a complete project. It was lonely. Resawing it created a matching pair that had a better sense of purpose, and even then it was still lacking...something.
What else goes on the wall? How about a shelf! The lizards could be the ends... but they lacked the strength. Initially, the bookshelf design envisioned solid end panels with the lizards inlaid. This left them under involved–the lizards needed to play a bigger role. Some of the mahogany had to go, to leave the lizards in charge!
It isn't immediately apparent but by this time the outline had been cut once for the initial lizard, routed/carved twice for the inlays, and then cut twice more to create the openness. This was all done by hand, no templates, no CNC... and not something I would have set out to do on purpose!
The ends evolved into having a sense of delicacy, which meant the shelves needed the same. The thin cuts, however, added a challenge of stability, and the open design would not allow a closed back or any added structure directly to the shelves. The answer presented itself in the form of more carefully designed silhouettes that fit the theme AND solved the problem at the same time. The palms!
In the end it all came together quite nicely, and quite different than what I thought it would be!