C H E C K I N G I N
J e r e
O s g o o d :
D e lib e r a t e
D e s ig n
S T O R Y B Y
J e s s i c a S h a y k e t t
I N S E C T L IM B S , T R E E T R U N K S ,
airplane w ings: W h a t do these
form s have in com m on? Each is
seen in Jere O sg o o d ’s furniture
in our June/July 1985 cover story.
T h e curvy span o f O sgood’s ash
desk (1987) - w ith the sinuous,
tapered legs he favors to this day
- invites such comparisons. Using
lamination techniques he pio-
neered in the 1970s, O sgood has
crafted a timeless, signature style.
“ I’ve continued to use
tapered laminations, and I like
that,” O sgood says. “T h e legs
are a m ark that I w as involved
- a w a y o f signing m y piece
before signing it.” Lam ination
involves gluing together thin
strips o f w o o d in a mold to pro-
duce a curved form ; the resulting
w o o d is stronger than the same
curve cut from solid stock. H e
uses lamination to create sturdy
yet lightweight limbs that look
as though they’v e grow n from
seeds planted in the earth.
O sgood, named to the A m eri-
can C raft Council College o f
Fellow s in 1993, w as an instruc-
tor at R ochester Institute o f
T ech n o lo gy’s School for A m eri-
can Craftsm en (his alma mater)
and the Program in A rtisanry at
Boston U niversity before leav-
ing academia in the mid-1980s
to w o rk as a studio craftsman.
T h ou gh long departed from the
classroom, the w o o d w o rk er con-
tinues to inspire students through
w orkshops and occasional con-
tributions to journals such as
F in e W o o d w o r k in g
, w here he
w rote about his groundbreaking
lamination techniques in the ’70s.
O sgood says the k ey to his
success is follow in g this m axim:
“ D o the designing o f the piece
first, then look around for the
technique that w ill support it,”
a notion he expounded on for
a chapter in
T h e P e n la n d B o o k
o f W o o d w o r k in g
(L ark, 2006).
H e gathers design ideas in the
w in ter, looking out the w in d o w
at the bluish-w hite countryside
around his rural N e w Hampshire
home. In the w arm months, he
takes those “thought form s”
and turns them into “ furniture
form s,” using m ethods honed
o ver the years, as w ell as som e
invented in the m om ent. T h at’s
the advantage o f being a master
w o o d w o rk er: O sg o o d ’s experi-
ence allow s him to visualize the
technique that will best fit the
design, then fo llo w through
w ith profound precision.
A s for the future, O sg o o d ’s
greatest hope is to m ake time
b etw een com m issioned pieces
to begin w o rk on a desk, the idea
for w hich em erged around 9/11.
D uring that tim e, O sgood , w h o
w as born and raised in Staten
Island, N e w Y o r k , w as w orkin g
in San Francisco. T h e form s o f
the piece are the result o f feel-
ings and thoughts he had w hile
m arooned in California. “ O f
course, that w as 10 years ago
n o w ,” he says, “but to me, it all
seems like just yesterday.”
+
J e s s ic a S h a y k e tt is th e A m e r ic a n
C r a ft C o u n c il lib r a r ia n
.
D e s k , 1987
lam inated ash
legs and w ings
2.6 x 6 x 2.2 ft.
A
L i b r a r y o f C r a f t
L O C A T E D A T
1 2 2 4
M A R S H A L L
Street N E in M inneapolis,
the A m erican C raft Council
library is one o f the w o rld ’s
largest collections o f craft, art,
and design books and other
publications, docum enting the
studio craft m ovem ent from the
1940s to the present. T h e m ore
than 14,000 volum es include the
C ou n cil’s 70-year publishing
history, w ith all past issues o f
C r a ft H o r iz o n s
and
A m e r ic a n
C r a ft.
In each issue, w e visit the
stacks and fo llo w up w ith a craft
artist w e ’ve covered before.
O ur library is free and open to the
public, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., M onday -
Friday. W e hope you ’ll visit.
W a te r T a b le s, 2 0 0 8
Brazilian tulipw ood
tops, w en ge legs
2.1 x 1.25 x 1.25 ft. each
112
america craft
aug/sep 11
W ater Tables
photo: Bill Truslow /
D esk
photo: A C C archives
