Ideas for drawer front theme

[Mike Davis]

Please post your ideas for theme to go on the cabinet drawer fronts.

After we have a few I'll make up a poll.

It would be nice to pick a theme that is appealing to a wide range of people (with lots of money) to attract bidders on the cabinet.

Also it would be nice to have a rolling master theme that continues through the years.

North Carolina is a given.

[Steve_Honeycutt]

Mike,

How about official state symbols, such as state bird, state tree, state flower, state butterfly, etc. Each drawer could have a different symbol.

Steve H.

[bobby g]

How about spring in North Carolina? Flowers, trees, birds, etc.

bobby g

[Mike Davis]

That is the kind of stuff we need.

If we do State bird one year then everyone can do their version of the State bird.

Same for each of the others. I believe this cohesive design will play better than a mixed bag.

I don't mean to say that every drawer front should look exactly the same. Just that they need to have some similarity. They could all be different birds or different leaves, different famous State buildings or some other theme. But, I think if they are too different combined with the wide range of different techniques then they may not hold together or look pleasant together.

I was thinking today one option is to pick a native tree and even make a pattern for a leaf and each one would be very different due to the technique and vision of the individual maker. But all together it would make a repetitive pattern that would work well. Variations on a subject sort of thing.

Even if a couple were completely different like a bird among all the leaves, or an abstract turning, it should work as long as there was enough similarity to bring it all back to the theme. Such as same wood or same technique as most of the other drawers.

A thought along those lines is to set up a rhythm such as all leaves in different techniques then break the rhythm by reversing the direction, color, object, or size of the pattern.

I think if we go too far in different subjects the piece will suffer and not stand as a comprehensive work. In other words too much diversity for the mind to comprehend as a single piece of art. In that case it would have to be held together by a commonality of technique, color, style and/or other attributes.

Since the idea is to display, even showcase, the many talents and visions of this broad group then limiting the scope of subject matter will enhance the differences of technique and style of each contributor.

[kooshball]

Here is a link to the official state symbols of many categories.

http://ncpedia.org/symbols/

[Mike Davis]

Butterfly Eastern tiger swallowtail


BIRD: Cardinal
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/id


State Dog Plott Hound


Flower Dogwood


State Fruit Scuppernong Grape


Horse Colonial Spanish Mustang


Insect Honeybees


State Mammal Gray Squirrel


State Reptile: Eastern Box Turtle


Tree Pine
Despite popular belief, no single species of pine is designated as the official tree of North Carolina. Many people believe that the longleaf pine is the state tree; indeed, many websites still list this species as one of North Carolina’s official symbols. This is probably due to the State Toast, which begins “Here’s to the land of the long leaf pine….” However, with eight species native to North Carolina (eastern white, loblolly, longleaf, pitch, pond, shortleaf, table mountain, and virginia), the 1963 legislature decided not to favor one at the expense of the other seven.


Vegetable Sweet Potato


Wildflower Carolina Lily

[Steve_Honeycutt]

Mike,

Since the design is to have 6 rows of 4 drawers, you could have a theme of the seasons four seasons across NC.

Another idea would be 4 regions of the state.

Steve H.

[ScottM]

I would think it would be nice to include some of our native sons. Billy Graham and Andy Griffith for examples.

[Steve_Honeycutt]

Scott,

I like your idea, but faces are very difficult for me to carve (others may not have the same problem that I do). Now you scrollers may not have the same problem. I would be concerned that we would limit the number of woodworkers who could participate. Of course, you could be going in a totally different direction.

Steve H.

[merrill77]

I think if we go too far in different subjects the piece will suffer and not stand as a comprehensive work. In other words too much diversity for the mind to comprehend as a single piece of art. In that case it would have to be held together by a commonality of technique, color, style and/or other attributes.

Artistically, I think most potential buyers will be drawn to some level of consistency in a project like this. Whether it is the subject (e.g. state bird), style (e.g. lifelike or abstract) or coloration (e.g. wood species), there should be a theme that draws the various parts together.

Of course, I've never tried to sell anything I've built, so what do I know?

[Mike Davis]

That is the kind of stuff we need.

If we do State bird one year then everyone can do their version of the State bird.

Same for each of the others. I believe this cohesive design will play better than a mixed bag.

I don't mean to say that every drawer front should look exactly the same. Just that they need to have some similarity. They could all be different birds or different leaves, different famous State buildings or some other theme. But, I think if they are too different combined with the wide range of different techniques then they may not hold together or look pleasant together.

I was thinking today one option is to pick a native tree and even make a pattern for a leaf and each one would be very different due to the technique and vision of the individual maker. But all together it would make a repetitive pattern that would work well. Variations on a subject sort of thing.

Even if a couple were completely different like a bird among all the leaves, or an abstract turning, it should work as long as there was enough similarity to bring it all back to the theme. Such as same wood or same technique as most of the other drawers.

A thought along those lines is to set up a rhythm such as all leaves in different techniques then break the rhythm by reversing the direction, color, object, or size of the pattern.

I think if we go too far in different subjects the piece will suffer and not stand as a comprehensive work. In other words too much diversity for the mind to comprehend as a single piece of art. In that case it would have to be held together by a commonality of technique, color, style and/or other attributes.

Since the idea is to display, even showcase, the many talents and visions of this broad group then limiting the scope of subject matter will enhance the differences of technique and style of each contributor.

Was that too deep?

[Mike Davis]

We still need to narrow down the ideas for a theme.

Since the state tree is the pine, can we save that for later and build the whole piece from the different native pines?

So, that leaves the state bird- Cardinal

State buildings / attractions

Famous NC people

Carolina lily

Dogwood flower

Anything else?

[Bill Clemmons]

What if we didn't have a central theme? What if 24 people each created a front that represents the type of woodworking they do? Examples:

A cutting board pattern
A segmented bowl pattern
A chess piece in a shadow box
A carved image (human face, NC landmark, landscape, bird, rabbit, dog, fish, etc., etc.)
A scrolled image (human face, NC landmark, landscape, bird, rabbit, dog, fish, etc., etc.)
A puzzle pattern

The possibilities are endless. We have some very creative/talented folks at NCWW. Why not turn that creativity loose and see what happens. As long as everyone sticks to the overall dimensions (6.25"h x 8.75"w x at least .75" thick) we should be able to make it work.

The chest itself (case work) is a basic Shaker design, which means it is fairly bland and won't distract from the creativity of the drawer fronts. The wood for the chest will be walnut and will probably be fairly dark when finished. A bland chest w/ dark wood will allow the creativity of the drawer fronts to stand out.

Bill

[Mike Davis]

I'm just afraid that too many different designs will not go together well.

But, we can do this one wide open and see how it goes if that is what most people want.

[bobby g]

What if we didn't have a central theme? What if 24 people each created a front that represents the type of woodworking they do? Examples:

A cutting board pattern
A segmented bowl pattern
A chess piece in a shadow box
A carved image (human face, NC landmark, landscape, bird, rabbit, dog, fish, etc., etc.)
A scrolled image (human face, NC landmark, landscape, bird, rabbit, dog, fish, etc., etc.)
A puzzle pattern

The possibilities are endless. We have some very creative/talented folks at NCWW. Why not turn that creativity loose and see what happens. As long as everyone sticks to the overall dimensions (6.25"h x 8.75"w x at least .75" thick) we should be able to make it work.

The chest itself (case work) is a basic Shaker design, which means it is fairly bland and won't distract from the creativity of the drawer fronts. The wood for the chest will be walnut and will probably be fairly dark when finished. A bland chest w/ dark wood will allow the creativity of the drawer fronts to stand out.

Bill

FWIW, Bill's description is the way that I had envisioned it from the start. I think that it will make a great piece that way!

bobby g