1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:02,900 (bright music) 2 00:00:02,900 --> 00:00:05,100 (graphic whooshing) 3 00:00:05,100 --> 00:00:07,133 - Welcome to "The Volunteer Woodworker." 4 00:00:07,133 --> 00:00:09,166 I'm your host Charles Brock. 5 00:00:09,166 --> 00:00:11,966 Come with me as we drive the back roads, 6 00:00:11,966 --> 00:00:16,300 bringing you the story of America's finest woodworkers. 7 00:00:16,300 --> 00:00:19,700 (bright music continues) 8 00:00:29,633 --> 00:00:33,033 (bright music continues) 9 00:00:34,766 --> 00:00:38,033 We're going to Kingston Springs, Tennessee, 10 00:00:38,033 --> 00:00:39,566 to meet Craig Nutt. 11 00:00:39,566 --> 00:00:42,533 He's an artist of the garden variety. 12 00:00:42,533 --> 00:00:46,166 His wooden chairs, tables, sculpture, 13 00:00:46,166 --> 00:00:49,100 unbelievably feature corn, butter beans, 14 00:00:49,100 --> 00:00:50,666 and other vegetables 15 00:00:50,666 --> 00:00:55,600 as legs, stretchers, backrests, and even airplane parts. 16 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,600 To say his work has a sense of humor is an understatement. 17 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:01,633 Let's meet Craig Nutt. 18 00:01:01,633 --> 00:01:03,333 (graphic whooshes) 19 00:01:03,333 --> 00:01:05,566 - [Announcer] "Volunteer Woodworker" is funded in part by: 20 00:01:05,566 --> 00:01:08,066 Since 1970, Whiteside Machine Company 21 00:01:08,066 --> 00:01:10,566 has been producing industrial-grade router bits 22 00:01:10,566 --> 00:01:12,266 in Claremont, North Carolina. 23 00:01:12,266 --> 00:01:15,633 Whiteside makes carbide bits for edge forming, grooving, 24 00:01:15,633 --> 00:01:17,533 and CNC applications. 25 00:01:17,533 --> 00:01:20,366 Learn more at whitesiderouterbits.com. 26 00:01:21,866 --> 00:01:25,500 Real Milk Paint Co. makes VOC-free, non-toxic milk paint 27 00:01:25,500 --> 00:01:27,800 available in 56 colors. 28 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,033 Milk paint creates a matte wood finish 29 00:01:30,033 --> 00:01:32,433 that can be distressed for an antique look. 30 00:01:32,433 --> 00:01:35,333 (upbeat music) 31 00:01:35,333 --> 00:01:37,566 Good Wood Nashville designs custom furniture 32 00:01:37,566 --> 00:01:40,166 and is a supplier of vintage hardwoods. 33 00:01:41,666 --> 00:01:44,366 Keri Price with Keller Williams Realty has been assisting 34 00:01:44,366 --> 00:01:48,600 Middle Tennessee home buyers and sellers since 2013. 35 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:50,166 Mayfield Hardwood Lumber, 36 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,300 supplying Appalachian hardwoods worldwide. 37 00:01:56,666 --> 00:01:58,666 Anna's Creative Lens 38 00:02:02,100 --> 00:02:03,433 - Hey, Charles. 39 00:02:03,433 --> 00:02:07,600 - Craig, Craig Nutt, I just love your studio. 40 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:09,766 You got a beautiful gallery here 41 00:02:09,766 --> 00:02:14,300 with a collection of some of your gorgeous work. 42 00:02:14,300 --> 00:02:17,466 It's not the garden variety kind of work, 43 00:02:17,466 --> 00:02:22,300 but it is just something that is very natural. 44 00:02:23,300 --> 00:02:25,000 You do things differently. 45 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:28,500 - Well, people tell me that. 46 00:02:28,500 --> 00:02:32,333 I feel like I do things that come natural to me. 47 00:02:32,333 --> 00:02:36,000 - Yeah, well, where did that come from? 48 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,500 - Well, the vegetable pieces are, 49 00:02:40,866 --> 00:02:44,400 you know, ever since I started working with wood 50 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,233 and working with furniture specifically, 51 00:02:47,233 --> 00:02:49,200 I started growing a garden. 52 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:51,833 I started out with furniture, 53 00:02:51,833 --> 00:02:56,000 working in an antique shop doing furniture restoration. 54 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,333 And the man that I worked for was a big gardener 55 00:02:59,333 --> 00:03:01,066 and had some land out in the country 56 00:03:01,066 --> 00:03:03,666 outside of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 57 00:03:03,666 --> 00:03:07,200 And so he gave us a little plot of land to work 58 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,533 and so we started growing vegetables 59 00:03:10,533 --> 00:03:13,900 and, you know, I think what happened 60 00:03:13,900 --> 00:03:15,933 when I quit doing that work 61 00:03:15,933 --> 00:03:18,800 and set out on my own, 62 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:20,766 we kind of lost our place to garden. 63 00:03:20,766 --> 00:03:24,466 We lived in town in a shady area in town 64 00:03:24,466 --> 00:03:26,533 and I couldn't really garden. 65 00:03:26,533 --> 00:03:30,533 So, I started making my vegetables. 66 00:03:30,533 --> 00:03:32,133 (Charles laughs) 67 00:03:32,133 --> 00:03:34,166 You know, you get the seed catalogs 68 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:38,533 and you kind of fantasize about what you're missing. 69 00:03:38,533 --> 00:03:40,600 And so they got bigger and bigger. 70 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:42,966 And I think, 71 00:03:42,966 --> 00:03:46,533 and, you know, seed catalogs always promise each year, 72 00:03:46,533 --> 00:03:49,266 you know, bigger, better, improved vegetables. 73 00:03:49,266 --> 00:03:51,133 So, there was something that I thought 74 00:03:53,533 --> 00:03:57,200 really got into the American psyche about that. 75 00:03:57,200 --> 00:03:59,066 You know, like at the country fair, 76 00:03:59,066 --> 00:04:02,866 people have their competitions to grow bigger vegetables. 77 00:04:02,866 --> 00:04:07,233 You know, they get very woody as they get larger. 78 00:04:07,233 --> 00:04:10,166 Some of them probably about as edible as mine. 79 00:04:10,166 --> 00:04:11,866 But I think there's something 80 00:04:13,266 --> 00:04:16,133 about the kind of American psyche 81 00:04:16,133 --> 00:04:18,600 that likes big vegetables 82 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:19,866 or more colorful 83 00:04:19,866 --> 00:04:24,766 or, you know, next year, they're new colors. 84 00:04:26,166 --> 00:04:30,200 - Oh, I mean, we're sitting in butter bean chairs, 85 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:35,166 and behind us here, we have looks like the "Corncorde," 86 00:04:36,066 --> 00:04:37,333 is that what that is? 87 00:04:37,333 --> 00:04:39,566 - The "Corncorde" at the Atlanta Airport. 88 00:04:39,566 --> 00:04:41,900 - Wow. Now, that is bigger and better. 89 00:04:41,900 --> 00:04:43,266 - That is. 90 00:04:43,266 --> 00:04:46,533 That's kind of about the size that I always picture 91 00:04:46,533 --> 00:04:49,233 making these smaller pieces. 92 00:04:49,233 --> 00:04:53,966 You know, I would pair those with kind of things like silos 93 00:04:53,966 --> 00:04:56,133 or architectural features 94 00:04:56,133 --> 00:04:59,700 to kind of give the impression of size. 95 00:04:59,700 --> 00:05:02,600 But I also realize that people can't put 96 00:05:03,733 --> 00:05:06,633 a 10-foot-long vegetable in their home. 97 00:05:06,633 --> 00:05:08,366 Most people can't. 98 00:05:08,366 --> 00:05:10,900 But when the job for the airport came around, 99 00:05:10,900 --> 00:05:14,933 that was just before the Olympic Games in 1996, 100 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:18,166 there was a competition 101 00:05:19,500 --> 00:05:24,100 to submit slides for public art in the airport 102 00:05:24,100 --> 00:05:29,066 and so my work made the cut and I got to do that piece. 103 00:05:29,866 --> 00:05:30,800 And it's still there. 104 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:32,566 It's still... 105 00:05:32,566 --> 00:05:34,066 - How big is that? 106 00:05:34,066 --> 00:05:37,433 - That's 10-feet long and has a 10-foot shuck span. 107 00:05:37,433 --> 00:05:39,033 - Shuck span. 108 00:05:39,033 --> 00:05:41,733 That is truly Craig Nutt. It is. 109 00:05:41,733 --> 00:05:46,700 Now, what do you call this whirligig piece of carrot here? 110 00:05:48,033 --> 00:05:51,100 - Well, that's one of a group of flying vegetables 111 00:05:51,100 --> 00:05:52,633 that I did. 112 00:05:52,633 --> 00:05:57,333 They actually preceded the furniture pieces that I made. 113 00:05:58,866 --> 00:06:02,333 I got interested in historical weathervanes and whirligigs 114 00:06:03,766 --> 00:06:07,966 and it just seemed natural to start doing vegetables. 115 00:06:09,500 --> 00:06:13,500 And then this piece during the 1988 presidential election, 116 00:06:14,766 --> 00:06:17,466 first President Bush, then Vice President Bush 117 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:22,033 came on the radio one day when I was working in the studio 118 00:06:22,033 --> 00:06:25,100 and he said, "I will never use food as a weapon." 119 00:06:25,100 --> 00:06:27,133 And then I thought, "Oh, right." 120 00:06:28,266 --> 00:06:30,100 I was a little cynical about that. 121 00:06:30,100 --> 00:06:33,600 But then I made a series of vegetable bombs. 122 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:34,966 This is called, 123 00:06:34,966 --> 00:06:39,133 "We Will Never Use Food As A Weapon: Carrot Bomb." 124 00:06:39,133 --> 00:06:41,166 I grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, 125 00:06:41,166 --> 00:06:44,300 during, you know, the peak of the space age, 126 00:06:44,300 --> 00:06:48,400 you know, when they were testing the Saturn rockets 127 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:49,966 for the moon launch. 128 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:53,400 And that was, there was also that interplay 129 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:57,466 between military and civilian use 130 00:06:57,466 --> 00:07:00,800 of space and rockets and things going on there. 131 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,233 So, that was basically, 132 00:07:04,233 --> 00:07:06,400 you know, growing up in that environment, 133 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:11,333 it's sort of natural for rockets and things like bombs 134 00:07:11,333 --> 00:07:13,966 and things like that to kind of come into your work. 135 00:07:13,966 --> 00:07:14,900 - Oh, yes. 136 00:07:14,900 --> 00:07:18,500 And did your parents nurture 137 00:07:18,500 --> 00:07:22,300 this artistic expression that you undoubtedly had? 138 00:07:22,300 --> 00:07:26,200 - Well, I hadn't really thought about that too much, 139 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:30,400 but I realized my father played piano 140 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:34,566 and everybody on my mother's side of the family 141 00:07:34,566 --> 00:07:35,866 played instruments 142 00:07:37,233 --> 00:07:41,733 and then my mother would really encourage creativity 143 00:07:41,733 --> 00:07:43,433 in the kids. 144 00:07:43,433 --> 00:07:47,733 We had walls that we were allowed to draw on and make notes 145 00:07:48,733 --> 00:07:52,400 or whoever wanted some notes 146 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:53,766 about what you were reading 147 00:07:53,766 --> 00:07:57,166 or, you know, if you wanted to draw on it. 148 00:07:57,166 --> 00:07:59,966 So, I've pretty much always done that in the studio. 149 00:07:59,966 --> 00:08:02,566 I have a place that I can jot down ideas 150 00:08:03,866 --> 00:08:05,366 when they occur to me. 151 00:08:05,366 --> 00:08:08,200 So, I can thank my mother for that. 152 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:10,866 - So, you kind of gravitated, 153 00:08:10,866 --> 00:08:13,366 from what I understand, into music. 154 00:08:14,866 --> 00:08:17,866 - Well, yeah, you know, I played in rock and roll bands 155 00:08:17,866 --> 00:08:19,166 as a kid, 156 00:08:19,166 --> 00:08:21,166 you know, and- - You started a garage band. 157 00:08:21,166 --> 00:08:24,066 - Garage bands, you know, typical stuff. 158 00:08:24,066 --> 00:08:26,600 But when I was in college, 159 00:08:28,900 --> 00:08:32,566 there were a number of artists that hung out together 160 00:08:32,566 --> 00:08:37,200 that kind of didn't fit in on campus very well 161 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,533 and kinda we created our own scene 162 00:08:40,533 --> 00:08:44,733 and we started experimenting with freely improvised music, 163 00:08:44,733 --> 00:08:46,766 just making it up as we went along. 164 00:08:48,333 --> 00:08:50,700 One of the people in the group found out 165 00:08:50,700 --> 00:08:53,566 that you could check out instruments 166 00:08:53,566 --> 00:08:56,400 from the University of Alabama marching band, 167 00:08:56,400 --> 00:08:57,700 a million-dollar band, 168 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:00,166 for a $5 deposit. 169 00:09:00,166 --> 00:09:02,633 So, we started checking out instruments 170 00:09:02,633 --> 00:09:04,800 that none of us knew how to play 171 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:07,600 and just started experimenting with those 172 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:10,466 and eventually started making records 173 00:09:11,733 --> 00:09:14,366 and performing, putting shows together 174 00:09:14,366 --> 00:09:19,333 and performing in the university homecoming parade, 175 00:09:22,433 --> 00:09:24,666 putting parade entries together. 176 00:09:24,666 --> 00:09:26,433 That was all very influential, 177 00:09:26,433 --> 00:09:29,766 especially the free improvisation, 178 00:09:29,766 --> 00:09:33,366 because when I started making furniture, 179 00:09:34,900 --> 00:09:39,400 you know, I started out really making antique reproductions 180 00:09:40,166 --> 00:09:41,633 and that sort of thing. 181 00:09:41,633 --> 00:09:44,866 - That's how you learn how furniture is put together. 182 00:09:44,866 --> 00:09:46,866 - Right, I got fascinated 183 00:09:46,866 --> 00:09:50,766 by, you know, taking apart old pieces of furniture 184 00:09:50,766 --> 00:09:52,233 and seeing how they were made, 185 00:09:53,733 --> 00:09:55,600 wondered how they actually made that. 186 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:57,833 They didn't have machines. 187 00:09:57,833 --> 00:10:01,366 And I found that the trick was hand tools. 188 00:10:01,366 --> 00:10:05,933 But then when I started designing my own furniture, 189 00:10:05,933 --> 00:10:09,800 that more improvisational vent 190 00:10:11,033 --> 00:10:14,700 that I was in with my artwork in college 191 00:10:14,700 --> 00:10:16,333 and just after college, 192 00:10:16,333 --> 00:10:19,100 you know, those kind of took place 193 00:10:19,100 --> 00:10:22,100 in a parallel universe too. 194 00:10:22,100 --> 00:10:24,000 So, you know, I'd be playing 195 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:27,933 this free improvised music at night, 196 00:10:27,933 --> 00:10:30,500 and in the daytime, I would be making 197 00:10:31,766 --> 00:10:36,300 kind of classic period-style furniture. 198 00:10:36,300 --> 00:10:37,500 But eventually, I- 199 00:10:37,500 --> 00:10:39,000 - That didn't really fit together. 200 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:41,233 - Well, you know, and it probably couldn't 201 00:10:41,233 --> 00:10:45,500 until I gained enough facility with making furniture 202 00:10:45,500 --> 00:10:49,733 that the technique became unimportant 203 00:10:49,733 --> 00:10:53,600 and that I could pretty much make whatever I wanted to. 204 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:56,600 I had the chops to make whatever I wanted to. 205 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:00,233 And then I started making pieces and that, 206 00:11:01,733 --> 00:11:05,500 so, I was able to get a lot more free about what I made. 207 00:11:06,666 --> 00:11:11,233 - Yeah, if you can visualize a piece, 208 00:11:11,233 --> 00:11:14,833 but if you can't make it, then it could be a plus 209 00:11:14,833 --> 00:11:18,133 in that you've gotta grow into being able to make it 210 00:11:19,033 --> 00:11:21,433 or it could just scare you off. 211 00:11:21,433 --> 00:11:23,300 You know, "I can't do this." 212 00:11:23,300 --> 00:11:25,333 Which road do you think you took? 213 00:11:26,966 --> 00:11:28,266 - Well, it was a little of both. 214 00:11:28,266 --> 00:11:32,566 I guess the, you know, when I started out, 215 00:11:32,566 --> 00:11:34,466 you know, I'd picture a table, 216 00:11:35,566 --> 00:11:37,833 you know, like Western furniture, 217 00:11:37,833 --> 00:11:41,700 typically a table is four legs joined with an apron 218 00:11:41,700 --> 00:11:45,433 or maybe with a drawer in it. 219 00:11:45,433 --> 00:11:50,333 And, you know, I started thinking of different ways 220 00:11:50,333 --> 00:11:51,600 that it could be done. 221 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:53,000 And really a breakthrough for me 222 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,266 was seeing the Treasures of Tutankhamun 223 00:11:56,266 --> 00:12:00,133 when it circulated around the US 224 00:12:00,133 --> 00:12:04,266 and to see Egyptian New Kingdom furniture, 225 00:12:04,266 --> 00:12:06,466 and it was not made that way at all. 226 00:12:06,466 --> 00:12:09,500 It was made in a very naturalistic way, 227 00:12:09,500 --> 00:12:14,400 like this desk that's to the right of us, 228 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:17,533 this Deinonychus Desk. 229 00:12:17,533 --> 00:12:19,766 It was really played off of the way 230 00:12:21,100 --> 00:12:23,533 some of the furniture in that show was constructed. 231 00:12:23,533 --> 00:12:26,200 You know, they used an animal form 232 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:31,166 and it wasn't like a four ball and claw feet 233 00:12:31,166 --> 00:12:32,800 symmetrically arranged. 234 00:12:34,300 --> 00:12:37,166 The pieces looked like they could walk across the room. 235 00:12:37,166 --> 00:12:42,133 And so that really kind of opened up some doors for me 236 00:12:43,433 --> 00:12:45,033 to think about, "Well, there's a lot of ways 237 00:12:45,033 --> 00:12:47,633 this furniture can be put together." 238 00:12:47,633 --> 00:12:50,000 And so that kind of freed me 239 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:53,166 from kind of assumptions I had made 240 00:12:53,166 --> 00:12:56,133 about the construction of pieces of furniture. 241 00:12:56,133 --> 00:12:59,000 - So many of your pieces make a statement 242 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,200 or they tell a story 243 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:04,233 and so I guess they were inspired, 244 00:13:04,233 --> 00:13:06,666 that's how they were inspired. 245 00:13:06,666 --> 00:13:10,333 And so are you kind of a what-if guy? 246 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:15,300 - Well, yeah, I guess so. 247 00:13:15,300 --> 00:13:18,266 I think most of the pieces will start 248 00:13:18,266 --> 00:13:20,433 with a seed of an idea. 249 00:13:23,833 --> 00:13:24,966 Like this desk again, 250 00:13:26,300 --> 00:13:29,333 I thought, well, you know, ball and claw feet, 251 00:13:30,966 --> 00:13:31,866 what are those? 252 00:13:31,866 --> 00:13:33,433 You know, they've been, 253 00:13:33,433 --> 00:13:36,933 or, you know, it comes from a dragon, the Chinese dragon. 254 00:13:36,933 --> 00:13:39,633 And where did that come from? 255 00:13:39,633 --> 00:13:42,433 Well, surely they've been digging these bones up 256 00:13:43,333 --> 00:13:44,866 for ages and ages. 257 00:13:44,866 --> 00:13:47,866 But it's only been very recently 258 00:13:47,866 --> 00:13:50,266 that we have a really good idea 259 00:13:50,266 --> 00:13:52,566 of what these animals look like 260 00:13:53,833 --> 00:13:55,700 and how they lived, how they functioned. 261 00:13:55,700 --> 00:14:00,366 So, to kind of take some of the new finds in paleontology 262 00:14:00,366 --> 00:14:03,733 and apply that to a ball and claw foot 263 00:14:03,733 --> 00:14:06,866 to, you know, make a piece that is kind of, 264 00:14:08,633 --> 00:14:09,866 connects in some way 265 00:14:09,866 --> 00:14:14,233 with what we know about paleontology now. 266 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:17,400 And so that's like a seed, 267 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:21,133 but then in the process of designing it 268 00:14:21,133 --> 00:14:25,033 and making models and making the piece, 269 00:14:25,033 --> 00:14:28,366 then that idea gets embellished along the way. 270 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,933 - With all your interests, have you ever been bored? 271 00:14:34,333 --> 00:14:36,566 - No. (chuckles) 272 00:14:38,233 --> 00:14:40,066 I can't say that I have, no. 273 00:14:41,333 --> 00:14:43,666 There's so many things out there, 274 00:14:43,666 --> 00:14:45,133 so many interesting things 275 00:14:45,133 --> 00:14:50,100 and so much, you know, in science and art 276 00:14:51,033 --> 00:14:53,100 and the work of other people. 277 00:14:53,100 --> 00:14:56,300 You know, there's no reason to be bored. 278 00:14:56,300 --> 00:14:57,100 - That's right. 279 00:14:59,166 --> 00:15:01,000 You can just look around in here 280 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,300 and see your interests 281 00:15:03,300 --> 00:15:07,766 from literature to art. 282 00:15:07,766 --> 00:15:11,100 And this is like everything coming together 283 00:15:11,100 --> 00:15:12,433 that you have studied, 284 00:15:12,433 --> 00:15:16,000 that you have been interested in. 285 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,900 - Well, you know, I think, you know, the world 286 00:15:19,900 --> 00:15:21,266 is a magical place 287 00:15:22,366 --> 00:15:24,900 if you have eyes to look around you, 288 00:15:24,900 --> 00:15:27,233 and it's easy to forget that 289 00:15:27,233 --> 00:15:29,433 with all the things that happen in the world 290 00:15:31,300 --> 00:15:33,700 that kind of consume your time 291 00:15:33,700 --> 00:15:35,100 and consume your brain, 292 00:15:35,100 --> 00:15:38,333 you know, turn on the TV and see what, or the news, 293 00:15:38,333 --> 00:15:39,466 and see what's going on. 294 00:15:39,466 --> 00:15:41,833 And it's easy to lose sight 295 00:15:41,833 --> 00:15:44,133 of just the wonder that's around you. 296 00:15:45,733 --> 00:15:47,866 And I think that's what I really appreciate 297 00:15:47,866 --> 00:15:49,800 when I see another artist's work 298 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:51,733 that reminds me of that 299 00:15:51,733 --> 00:15:54,466 and makes me stop and say, "Oh, yeah, 300 00:15:55,700 --> 00:15:57,466 we're living in an enchanted world here." 301 00:15:57,466 --> 00:15:59,666 It's just you walk around, 302 00:15:59,666 --> 00:16:01,866 I look at my garden, it's unbelievable, 303 00:16:01,866 --> 00:16:06,433 the plants, the fruit on them, the colors. 304 00:16:06,433 --> 00:16:09,300 You know, you could just never imagine 305 00:16:09,300 --> 00:16:12,100 the color combinations that you see in nature. 306 00:16:12,100 --> 00:16:13,933 It's just astonishing. 307 00:16:15,233 --> 00:16:17,533 This bench, it's called "Burning" 308 00:16:18,533 --> 00:16:19,666 and it's a, 309 00:16:21,700 --> 00:16:26,000 I made that right after 9/11. 310 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:30,966 And so there were like flames in the air, I think. 311 00:16:31,633 --> 00:16:32,166 And I thought, 312 00:16:33,666 --> 00:16:37,833 I had decided I wasn't gonna make any more vegetable pieces, 313 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:44,166 but I had bought this fabric that's on the seat 314 00:16:44,833 --> 00:16:45,666 at an auction 315 00:16:45,666 --> 00:16:48,033 and it was made by a, 316 00:16:48,033 --> 00:16:51,333 it's handwoven chenille 317 00:16:51,333 --> 00:16:53,533 that's been discharge dyed. 318 00:16:53,533 --> 00:16:58,433 This color's been stripped out of parts of it and redyed. 319 00:16:58,433 --> 00:17:00,233 It was made by Janet Taylor, 320 00:17:01,166 --> 00:17:03,700 who is a North Carolina artist. 321 00:17:03,700 --> 00:17:08,666 And it was at a Furniture Society auction 322 00:17:09,933 --> 00:17:13,500 and I thought, "These are the right colors 323 00:17:13,500 --> 00:17:16,500 and the right feel for one of my pieces." 324 00:17:16,500 --> 00:17:20,100 Nashville Metro Arts Commission 325 00:17:20,100 --> 00:17:22,466 was commissioning five pieces 326 00:17:22,466 --> 00:17:27,433 to commemorate the response to the flood in each of those, 327 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:30,266 it was the 2010 flood. 328 00:17:30,266 --> 00:17:32,800 This one is in Bellevue 329 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,866 and it's on a high piece of ground in Nashville 330 00:17:36,866 --> 00:17:40,000 that the area all around it was flooded, 331 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:41,700 a river plantation, 332 00:17:41,700 --> 00:17:43,733 and the Harpeth River flooded. 333 00:17:43,733 --> 00:17:48,666 And this piece actually is, 334 00:17:48,666 --> 00:17:50,166 I looked at flood maps 335 00:17:50,166 --> 00:17:53,866 and the shape of it was determined by the flood zone. 336 00:17:53,866 --> 00:17:58,833 So, the part on the top that is kind of mud colored. 337 00:18:00,733 --> 00:18:03,433 - Like for my chair-making friends, 338 00:18:03,433 --> 00:18:08,400 I love the idea of your famous piece over here. 339 00:18:09,566 --> 00:18:12,633 - "Make a Tree from a Chair." 340 00:18:12,633 --> 00:18:16,633 Yeah, you know, there's a well-known book 341 00:18:16,633 --> 00:18:18,766 that anybody who has tried 342 00:18:18,766 --> 00:18:22,433 to bust a chair out of a tree knows about, 343 00:18:24,300 --> 00:18:25,900 "Make a Chair From a Tree." 344 00:18:25,900 --> 00:18:27,733 And I started thinking 345 00:18:27,733 --> 00:18:29,800 about what was gonna happen with my work. 346 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,833 You know, how could it be recycled? 347 00:18:32,833 --> 00:18:36,100 I wasn't quite ready to cut up my own work 348 00:18:36,100 --> 00:18:37,533 and recycle it yet, 349 00:18:37,533 --> 00:18:41,266 but I went down to the thrift store and bought a chair 350 00:18:41,266 --> 00:18:45,566 and I thought, "Well, how good a tree could I make 351 00:18:45,566 --> 00:18:47,200 from a chair?" 352 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:50,200 So, I took it all, knocked it all apart 353 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:54,300 and tried to put it back together 354 00:18:54,300 --> 00:18:57,533 as close to a tree as I could make from a chair, 355 00:18:57,533 --> 00:18:59,266 carved bark on it, 356 00:18:59,266 --> 00:19:00,400 put it on the lathe 357 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:04,500 and turned it around and carved bark. 358 00:19:04,500 --> 00:19:08,433 And that's about as close as I could get. 359 00:19:09,833 --> 00:19:13,133 - Craig, I understand you have a special process 360 00:19:13,133 --> 00:19:18,000 for developing these pieces from your seed. 361 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:19,266 - Well, I don't know if it, 362 00:19:19,266 --> 00:19:21,333 I don't know if it's that special a process, 363 00:19:21,333 --> 00:19:24,533 but I can tell you how I do it. 364 00:19:25,766 --> 00:19:28,866 You know, I used to get on a drawing board, 365 00:19:28,866 --> 00:19:32,500 you know, which was a rectangular drawing board 366 00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:35,833 with a sliding rule 367 00:19:37,033 --> 00:19:39,266 and draw things up to scale. 368 00:19:39,266 --> 00:19:40,966 And what I found 369 00:19:40,966 --> 00:19:45,633 was when I worked entirely on a drawing like that, 370 00:19:45,633 --> 00:19:48,533 things tended to be very rectilinear. 371 00:19:48,533 --> 00:19:52,200 You know, it's like I couldn't get off of that 372 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:54,500 and into three-dimensional space. 373 00:19:56,700 --> 00:20:01,333 My solutions to problems tended to be more linear. 374 00:20:01,333 --> 00:20:04,000 And a breakthrough for me 375 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:06,900 was when I started making models of my work. 376 00:20:06,900 --> 00:20:09,400 So, once I get the ideas down, 377 00:20:11,100 --> 00:20:13,733 I'll draw parts of them to get them to scale 378 00:20:13,733 --> 00:20:14,966 to make patterns, 379 00:20:16,733 --> 00:20:20,833 but then I'll go as soon as I can to a model 380 00:20:20,833 --> 00:20:24,033 where I actually have a three-dimensional thing. 381 00:20:24,033 --> 00:20:26,066 And I'll pull out a model 382 00:20:26,066 --> 00:20:27,900 and we can take it down to the shop 383 00:20:27,900 --> 00:20:29,933 and I'll show you some of the advantages 384 00:20:29,933 --> 00:20:31,400 of working with a model. 385 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:33,366 - That's perfect. I can't wait to see. 386 00:20:33,366 --> 00:20:35,200 - Okay. - Let's do it. 387 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:37,666 You've got a nice collection of models here. 388 00:20:37,666 --> 00:20:39,433 - Well, I brought some out that might connect 389 00:20:39,433 --> 00:20:42,133 with some of the things we've been talking about. 390 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:47,200 When I make these models, 391 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:49,800 I just kind of make rough models 392 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:53,133 and try not to spend too much time on them, 393 00:20:53,133 --> 00:20:57,466 but make them good enough that I can photograph them 394 00:20:57,466 --> 00:21:00,133 and work back over the photographs. 395 00:21:00,133 --> 00:21:02,500 I mean, this is unusual for me to use one 396 00:21:02,500 --> 00:21:03,966 and actually paint it. 397 00:21:03,966 --> 00:21:07,466 But you can see this is a model for the "Corncorde" 398 00:21:07,466 --> 00:21:11,333 and I actually used an ear of corn on that 399 00:21:11,333 --> 00:21:12,633 to represent that 400 00:21:12,633 --> 00:21:15,900 rather than carving all of those kernels. 401 00:21:15,900 --> 00:21:17,633 - It looks so real. 402 00:21:17,633 --> 00:21:19,100 I had that question. Okay. 403 00:21:20,533 --> 00:21:24,333 - But one of the things you can do with a model 404 00:21:24,333 --> 00:21:29,266 is if something is not working out, 405 00:21:29,266 --> 00:21:31,000 if you don't like the way it looks, 406 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:36,033 well, I was gonna just pull this off. 407 00:21:36,033 --> 00:21:39,433 Say if I didn't like the stretcher on this, 408 00:21:39,433 --> 00:21:41,466 it's just stuck on with hot melt glue 409 00:21:41,466 --> 00:21:44,566 so I can pull it off, make another one, and try that 410 00:21:44,566 --> 00:21:46,700 rather than going through the whole process 411 00:21:46,700 --> 00:21:50,066 on a full-size piece. 412 00:21:50,066 --> 00:21:53,400 So, they're just made barely good enough 413 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:55,633 to hold together with hot melt glue. 414 00:21:56,566 --> 00:21:57,966 This is that- 415 00:21:57,966 --> 00:21:59,400 - Is there a particular scale that you? 416 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:03,066 - I usually work with either 1/8 or 1/4 size. 417 00:22:03,066 --> 00:22:05,166 So, I use an architect's scale 418 00:22:05,166 --> 00:22:08,166 and then just use it, 419 00:22:08,166 --> 00:22:10,000 instead of inches to feet, 420 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,733 I'll use the 1/4 scale or 1/8 scale 421 00:22:13,733 --> 00:22:17,166 and then use those as inches. 422 00:22:17,166 --> 00:22:21,366 So, that was the model for the butter bean chair. 423 00:22:21,366 --> 00:22:26,333 And this was actually the model for the "Burning" bench. 424 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:28,500 And as you can see here, 425 00:22:28,500 --> 00:22:31,200 I didn't go to all the trouble on the back 426 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:35,466 to carve all that. 427 00:22:35,466 --> 00:22:37,633 I actually, probably when I made the model, 428 00:22:37,633 --> 00:22:40,000 I wasn't sure what I was gonna do with the back, 429 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:44,000 so I just put a piece in here to represent that. 430 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:49,000 And then when I actually started working on the piece, 431 00:22:54,900 --> 00:22:57,200 I photographed this. 432 00:22:58,400 --> 00:22:59,700 Let's see, about like that. 433 00:23:01,466 --> 00:23:03,966 Then I printed it 434 00:23:03,966 --> 00:23:06,866 and worked back over the print with colors. 435 00:23:06,866 --> 00:23:09,933 And then I could try different things on the drawing. 436 00:23:09,933 --> 00:23:13,000 It would still represent what I was gonna make. 437 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:17,533 But I think I have a version with just a plain beam there 438 00:23:17,533 --> 00:23:19,966 and a version with the flames on it. 439 00:23:19,966 --> 00:23:23,633 And that's probably where I came up with the idea 440 00:23:23,633 --> 00:23:27,366 of turning the asparagus stalks into torches. 441 00:23:28,866 --> 00:23:29,766 - Just wonderful. 442 00:23:29,766 --> 00:23:31,666 And it's so efficient 443 00:23:31,666 --> 00:23:35,233 as compared to building a full-size piece, 444 00:23:35,233 --> 00:23:37,633 trading out pieces, 445 00:23:37,633 --> 00:23:40,466 having to do all the joinery perfectly. 446 00:23:40,466 --> 00:23:42,300 - In this stage, in the modeling, 447 00:23:42,300 --> 00:23:44,500 I can be pretty spontaneous 448 00:23:44,500 --> 00:23:49,033 and things don't have to actually work out on the model 449 00:23:50,766 --> 00:23:52,433 and I can play around with the colors. 450 00:23:52,433 --> 00:23:55,700 Like this cabinet here, 451 00:23:55,700 --> 00:23:58,600 which is a pepper cabinet. 452 00:24:00,900 --> 00:24:01,700 - It is a pepper. 453 00:24:03,233 --> 00:24:05,866 - This ended up being a banana pepper cabinet, 454 00:24:07,766 --> 00:24:09,466 but when I was doing these, 455 00:24:09,466 --> 00:24:12,000 I also tried it with a red pepper 456 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,500 and I could even make the pepper into an okra. 457 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:20,166 So, I kind of worked through all those ideas as well. 458 00:24:20,166 --> 00:24:23,200 But, you know, in my color stains. 459 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,900 - Leave no vegetable untried. 460 00:24:26,900 --> 00:24:30,033 Like your tables, your rhubarb tables. 461 00:24:30,033 --> 00:24:32,500 - Well, as I said, you know, we go out in the garden, 462 00:24:32,500 --> 00:24:35,733 I've thought, "I've made my last vegetable piece," 463 00:24:35,733 --> 00:24:37,133 and then I go out in the garden 464 00:24:37,133 --> 00:24:41,633 and I think, "Oh, man, this is just so wonderful. 465 00:24:41,633 --> 00:24:43,866 I need to make a piece out of this." 466 00:24:43,866 --> 00:24:45,533 - Well, you've got a beautiful garden, 467 00:24:45,533 --> 00:24:47,933 Craig, this has been fascinating. 468 00:24:47,933 --> 00:24:50,000 - Well, I enjoyed talking with you, Charles. 469 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,833 - Yeah, wonderful visit, wonderful artist. 470 00:24:53,833 --> 00:24:55,433 It makes me smile. 471 00:24:55,433 --> 00:24:56,733 (graphic whooshes) 472 00:24:56,733 --> 00:24:58,300 I'm gonna be heading down the road 473 00:24:58,300 --> 00:25:01,733 to find a story of another great woodworker. 474 00:25:01,733 --> 00:25:04,700 See you next time on "The Volunteer Woodworker." 475 00:25:04,700 --> 00:25:05,633 (graphic whooshes) 476 00:25:05,633 --> 00:25:08,166 (bright music) 477 00:25:18,166 --> 00:25:21,566 (bright music continues) 478 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,966 - 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