Sam Schnaible

My work is in wood but it is geomorphic: sedimentary on the outside, igneous on the inside. The yin and yang of the earth: a smooth, molten interior; a terraced, eroded crust.

 

The process begins in fields and backyards, with found lumber: down, dead, discarded. Some of the pieces have lain in their places for a century. Some came down in the last big wind storm. Large pieces are winched into the back of a pickup truck and hauled out on rutted dirt roads. Every piece is different: twisted, knurled, variegated,  idiosyncratic, unwanted by others. But in every crease, twist and imperfection lies a natural balance and the nugget of an idea.

 

In the shop, the wood is rough milled into a slab using large tools and methods. It is then put back to rest, to air dry, sometimes for two to three years. In the interim I conceptualize and sketch. After time has gone by, I mill the slabs to precise thicknesses, as thin as 1/8" thick.

 

I work in a fractured concentricity. Each bowl is made up of rings consisting of precisely cut, mathematically defined segments, varying  from 8 to 46 pieces. Each segment is broken on its outside edge, one segment at a time. Each segment is unique and different, but similar, to the next .

 

[2r sin(c/2)=]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some designs require as many as forty rings which means there could be over 1300 individual pieces spread over my workspace, waiting to be inserted.

 

Based on the design I have created, drafted, and mathematically determined, the rings are mounted and adhered on top of one another and  put on the lathe. I then shape and sand the inside of the bowls and finish them by adding a high gloss lacquer that is hand rubbed with wax.