Craig Thibodeau Redux
14 May 2010
“A Delicate Balance”
One of my favorite authors is John Fowles (his most successful book was “The French Lieutenant’s Woman). I discovered him when I was stationed in Berlin in the mid-1960s. Over the years I read most of his output, and I was always in awe of him. He turned phrases wonderfully, but more than that he used those phrases in stories that had some of the most inventive plots I have ever come across, or at least that I was willing to read. It is possible to make a story so inventive that it just collapses from its own weight of not “too many notes” as the Emperor said in Amadeus, but from “too many ideas.”
I bring that up, though, because I know of a marquetry expert who does work that is just absolutely stunning. I don’t think anyone can look at this man’s work and not be impressed, and those of us who are woodworkers and understand what has gone into it just end up shaking our heads in a sort of befuddled appreciation, knowing full well that we are never in this world going to do work of that caliber. But even so, I would not want his projects in my home. “Too many notes.” It is wonderful, glorious marquetry, but it is almost rococo in its elaborateness. I much prefer less.
I think that’s what most impresses me about the subject of today’s blog, Craig Thibodeau. His marquetry transforms excellent, well-made pieces into works of art, really, but the marquetry is there to adorn the work. It does not overwhelm it. I first encountered Craig two years ago when I was scrambling about for blog subjects, and I remember thinking then that what he had created had such a perfection about it that it wouldn’t be possible to improve on it.
Well, sir!
It turns out Craig has been “out-Craiged” by, um, well, by Craig, actually. Most woodworkers, especially those who are doing it for a living, get to a certain level of expertise and tend to stay at that level. But every now and again you come across a woodworker who views his art is a living thing, something that must grow to prosper. So with that, let’s talk about what the lad has been up to lately.
Mostly to torture myself I put Craig’s “Dogwood Blanket Chest” at the top of this blog. I made a blanket chest once. No, that’s not true. I made an eight-foot-tall entertainment center for our master bedroom and put an over-sized drawer at the bottom of it for our blankets. It’s works for us, and even now I’m pretty proud of it. But, in a way, I guess it’s kind of a crash course in the difference between talent and genius.
Craig’s blanket chest, to get this back to genius, is made of Mahogany and Curly Sycamore and has been adorned with a wonderful marquetry imagery of Dogwood flowers and branches, including three Mother of Pearl butterflies in various colors. The chest is finished with satin Lacquer and has solid brass hinges and lid stay.
Another piece I found myself admiring is Craig’s Maple Leaf Cabinet. He designed it with marquetry imagery of Japanese Maple leaves on a spalted Maple background and used Honduran Mahogany as the framework. For those who don’t know, I should point out that only a handful of wood artists use spalted wood, which is wood that has actually begun to rot a little. It is normally found in dead trees that have been lying about for a while. They sometimes pick up fungi during the rotting process that create black, pink, grey and multicolored streaked wood. Once it has been properly kiln-dried the fungi can no longer grow and the spalting process will stop. The result is a lot like burl. It is glorious to look at, but hell to machine it, so only a handful ever make the attempt. But for those who do, the results are spectacular.
Speaking of burl, I also wanted to mention Craig’s Slate Desk which he made of Myrtle Burl and Maple. Craig simply describes it as, “A large Art Deco style desk/dresser veneered in Myrtle Burl with Maple drawers and interior.” He goes on to point out that the piece serves several functions in a single well-organized whole. It has four dresser drawers on the lower left side and two jewelry drawers on the upper left side. There are also two additional hidden drawers behind the upper two drawers. There are three slide-out trays for the client’s electronic equipment behind the center door and a small writing desk with a single pencil drawer on the far right.
So that much, at least, is the bare bones description, but it says nothing, really, about the accomplishment of the piece itself. Even in veneer form burl is difficult to work with, and, as always, Craig raises the bar a bit with the careful book matching and piecing he did in the drawer fronts. Now only does the pattern repeat, it flows over the drawer fronts to make of it one glorious whole. And this in a medium, burl, that is brittle and flaky, and I don’t know what all. And then, to top it all off, the Myrtle veneer was dyed lightly to match the golden brown color of the other pieces.
When I first wrote about Craig, I said, “I’m the kind of person who’s having too much fun to ever feel old, but it doesn’t alter the fact that I am in my sixties now with creaking joints and that I wear rather thick bifocals. Some of the people I see doing astonishing things in woodworking have been at it for a quarter of a century or more. And some people, to be honest about this, have a hand and an eye that just astounds me.” All that has changed since then is that I’ve gotten older, and Craig has gotten better. And he still has a wonderfully delicate touch with his woodworking.
Joseph
Leave a Reply
One Response to “Craig Thibodeau Redux”
May 14th, 2010 at 10:06 AM
Nice post there Joseph. Craig is one of the best woodworkers I know. If you have ever seen his work up close and personal it is fabulous. That’s why he consistently wins “Best of Show” awards for almost everything he enters into an exhibit. As a furniture maker myself I am very critical of my own work and the work of others. If you get a chance, get down on your knees and examine even the bottoms of a piece that Craig has made. Flawless.
Joe