Category Archives: The Classic Orders

Design or engineer?

Posted on April 2, 2013 by walkerg

My brother and I looked on as a gunsmith at Colonial Williamsburg expertly fit together a black walnut stock with a metal lock. Without raising an eye the artisan patiently answered our questions as though we were fresh off the … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, The Classic Orders, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Vision

Posted on September 11, 2012 by walkerg

I hardly leave the house without a camera. This was not always the case. For the longest time I took snapshots while on vacation, or to record family memories. Barb and I have boxes full of out of focus pictures … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, The Classic Orders | 3 Comments

Crossing the Line

Posted on August 28, 2012 by walkerg

Have you ever winced when someone admired your work and declared you an artist? I take it as a sincere compliment, but I think of my work as craft. If done well it extends our craft tradition, a reward in … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, proportions, The Classic Orders | 7 Comments

Apprentice sketchbook – Drawing a volute

Posted on March 1, 2011 by walkerg

I’m writing this with muddy snow still lingering outside but in eager anticipation of the coming thaw. Waterfowl are beginning to dot the horizon in the opening act of a grand play. Locked beneath a carpet of bleached out leaves, all … Continue reading →

Posted in Apprentice Sketchbook, The Classic Orders | 9 Comments

The human connection

Posted on May 3, 2010 by walkerg

It’s full blown spring here in Northern Ohio. Barbie’s Hostas are coloring the brown garden beds with pure hues of green. The leaves are perfect and clean and create a miniature forest for migrating birds. Wood thrushes, Towhees, and white … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, proportions, The Classic Orders | 3 Comments

Use proportions to punctuate

Posted on April 12, 2010 by walkerg

Which of the three scenarios should make your heart skip a beat while canoeing?  A. The river takes a sharp bend up ahead and you cannot see beyond the where the water turns a corner.  B. You spot rapids ahead … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, proportions, The Classic Orders | Comments Off on Use proportions to punctuate

Get the proportions right

Posted on March 29, 2010 by walkerg

Weekend before last Barbie and I went up to Lake Erie in hopes of seeing the waterfowl migration. Starting in late Feb through March, large flocks of ducks, geese, and swans congregate in the wetlands between Sandusky and Toledo Ohio. … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Basics, proportions, The Classic Orders | 9 Comments

Classic order, entablatures

Posted on March 15, 2010 by walkerg

I don’t often look for direct correlation between the classic orders and a furniture design but if you understand the wellspring that feeds western design it can be very helpful. Part of it is actually learning the nomenclature which takes … Continue reading →

Posted in proportions, The Classic Orders | 2 Comments

Classic Orders, link to a design heritage

Posted on March 8, 2010 by walkerg

 Growing up, Beech Creek divided two very different worlds. On one side, a post war (WWII) housing allotment. Ramrod straight rows of identical boxes each with a driveway attached to the street like teeth on a zipper. The Holloway family … Continue reading →

Posted in proportions, The Classic Orders | 2 Comments

Classic Orders to guide proportions

Posted on March 1, 2010 by walkerg

Last Friday a woodworking pal of mine stopped by my shop for a little instruction on sharpening plane irons. We went through the basics, how to flatten the back and put a fresh honed edge on the bevel. He was … Continue reading →

Posted in proportions, The Classic Orders, Uncategorized | 3 Comments