GARY A. LEAKE WOODWORKING

"Partly Sunny"

Hall Table

Oregon Black Walnut

with American Black Walnut, Oregon Myrtle and Stained Glass

The combination of radically different materials inspired by the brilliant sun as it peeks through the clouds above Whidbey Island…

One of the most inspiring sights for me is watching the sun, as it appears to weave it’s way through the puffy clouds. Having the luxury to watch from beautiful Whidbey Island on a daily basis simply adds to the experience.

The basis for this piece of wood art began with the discovery of the magnificent piece of highly figured Oregon black walnut (American black walnut [Juglans nigra] crossed with Claro walnut [Juglans hindsii]) that has been used to create the tabletop. Pieces of Oregon black walnut, with its naturally developed medium-to-dark ranging browns punctuated with traces of black-streaked grain have been used to recreate the soft cloud-like effect of the sky albeit with a solid, unyielding under structure required to support the stained glass. This stable heavy timber was an obvious choice for this piece, however the design depended upon another critical element: the rising sun.

The representation of the awesome brilliance of the sun proved to be more difficult. Most media (stained or painted wood for example) simply paled by comparison. Ultimately a single large piece of textured yellow-colored stained glass was selected to represent the fiery orb above us. Smaller pieces of the same intense yellow stained glass were nestled between the pairs of lower spreaders to complete the design. To protect the glass and complete the desired affect of the piece of art furniture the glass edges were wrapped with a band of copper material, silver soldered and treated to darken the metal to create the final dark bronze edge.

The book-matched table legs have been fabricated from a single plank of American black walnut (Juglans nigra) that has been selected for grain, color and character to complement the tabletop. The lower support members have also been fashioned from American black walnut. The addition of a hand-carved Oregon myrtle (Umbellularia californica) seagull completed the design and served to secure the glass in place.

The table has been hand finished with a durable finish to highlight the naturally contrasting range of colors and protect the beautiful patina of the timber while giving the table a warm feeling to the touch. As with all of his wood art pieces the title of the piece, creation date and artist information has been permanently stamped on the underside of the table. This piece has been entered in the artist’s permanent registry.

Dimensions: 41-7/8 inches in width, 13-5/8 inches in depth (maximum), 31 inches in height