Where do you get your wood ? To answer this FAQ, I have decided to post some photos of the saw mill and a log being cut into boards.From here it is taken and air dried or put into a kiln to dry before it will be ready for use. This is one of many sources i use for wood. I can also be found with chainsaw in hand on my tractor scouring the woods. This Mill is an older Frick Saw Mill and has been in use many years and i enjoy spending time seeing the tree have a second life as furniture.

Main Exhibit Gallery: PCN Tours Segment

Main Exhibit Gallery: PCN Tours Segment: Paul's segment on Pennsylvania Cable Network's "PCN Tours" has been getting  a lot of action lately. We're surprised by the number of cal...

Main Exhibit Gallery: Artists Demonstrations Fri & Sat

Main Exhibit Gallery: Artists Demonstrations Fri & Sat: Paul Sirofchuck will demonstrate turning on the wood lathe (Fri and Sat) and Mike Mangiafico will demonstrate glass blowing (Sat only)...

Great Article on Poplar Culture

The opening reception for "Poplar Culture: The Celebration of a Tree" on May 20 was a successful event for the Wharton Esherick Museum and I was honored to be invited as one of the 45 craftspeople to create a piece for the benefit. The Philadelphia Inquirer recently published a great article on the event, which runs throughout June 10 at Historic Yellow Springs, PA. It includes lots of info on Esherick and the poplar tree that inspired our creations. Here is the link if you want to read on:

http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/virginia_smith/155859555.html

Paul Sirofchuck with fellow exhibitors Michael Brolly and Shawn Turley with catalogs from the exhibit "Poplar Culture."

Part 15: "PopArch" Table: The Finished Piece

After painting the arch base black, and spraying a clear lacquer over the poplar and purple heart, the "PopArch" Table is complete.  It will be exhibited at Historic Yellow Springs near Valley Forge, PA, as part of a benefit and sale May 20-june 11, 2012, for the Wharton Esherick Museum in Paoli, PA.

Part 14: "PopArch" Table: Hand Planing the Top

Before finishing the table, I'm tapering the underside of the top with hand planes, creating a beveled edge, visually reinforcing the cantilever of the top.

Part 13: "PopArch" Table Trial Fitting the Pieces

Part 12: "PopArch Table" Refining the Feet

I am cutting, trimming and drilling the stabilizing feet for the base of the table.  These are in walnut.

Jewelry Chests in the Works

With spring around the corner , I find new inspiration in the nature that surounds my studio in the Laurel Highlands. Currently I  am working on 3 jewelry cabinets that seem to have evolved much from this inspiration , and I await their finalization to showcase them...... Some of the most complex work  I will have completed to date.  Look for their debut in the near future.   On another note the studio is growing with the warm weather with skylight and roofed wood/machine storage  areas being added to the front and back. This should make life a little easier . So far the concrete and block retaining walls have been completed . The roof awaits, but at least the mud is no more. Here are two of the chests in various stages.

Part 11: "PopArch" Table: Building the Supports
Here I am crafting the pieces that support the table top and attach it to the laminated arch base.

Part 10: "PopArch" Table:  Refining the Base

For the past few days I've been uploading video segments of a project I completed several months ago for the Wharton Esherick Museum's benefit and sale, Poplar Culture, coming up May 20. I am currently working on some commissioned pieces for clients, as well as some exciting jewelry cases/sculptures, which I am really enjoying creating.

Part 9: "PopArch" Table:  Out of the Bag
The glued laminated table base is removed from the vacuum press bag.

Part 8: "PopArch" Table:  The Glued Top

Part 7: "PopArch" Table: Preparing the Table Top

Part 6: "PopArch" Table: Using the bandsaw.

Part 5: "PopArch" Table: Gluing and Vacuum Pressing the Laminations

Here, a resin glue is applied to the poplar laminations, which are put on a form and placed into the vacuum press bag to form them into an arch for the base of the table.

Part 4: Resawn Poplar Laminations

PopArch Table: Preparing the poplar

Here is part three of the construction of the "PopArch" table for the Wharton Esherick Museum benefit.

PopArch Table: The design and board selection.

Here's the next installment of my construction of the PopArch Table for "Poplar Culture: The Celebration of a Tree" for the Wharton Esherick Museum.

Poplar Culture Project

One of my favorite contemporary sculptors and furniture designers is Pennsylvania native Wharton Esherick (1887-1970). Several months ago, I was invited to participate in "Poplar Culture: The Celebration of a Tree,"  a benefit sale of woodworked items for the the Wharton Esherick Museum (www.whartonesherickmuseum.org) located in Paoli, PA, just outside Valley Forge historical park.


About 40 artisans were asked to create a woodworked item from boards sawn from the poplar tree that stood outside Esherick's studio. The tree was struck by lighting and cut down in 2009. The sale of the items will be held at Historic Yellow Springs, PA from May 21-June 10, 2012.  A preview reception will be held Sunday, May 20. For information and tickets to this event, visit the Wharton Esherick Museum website.

I videotaped the entire construction of what I am calling the "PopArch" table, and will post portions of the video on this blog over the next few weeks. I invite you to follow my creative process as I work with this historic tree.  You'll have to wait until the end of my posts to see the finished table!

Here's the first segment of the video:

I'm starting this blog to share my passion for woodworking and design with friends and clients.

working hard