Below is the text from An Interview I did with Homeguyd.com
Oct. 30, 2017
1. What determined your passion for Woodworking? Tell us about the
moment when you decided this is the way to go.
I grew up spending a good deal of time in my father’s woodshop. In many
ways, I am simply following in my dad’s footsteps. When I was a teenager, my
dad was already teaching me a good deal about the properties of different
woods and how to safely use power tools. Whenever I needed help making
something cool out of wood, dad always was there with expert advice.
Even though I have been working wood for over two decades, only in the last
three years has my technical ability and artistic design ability found the perfect
marriage. Once I saw the first 2-d optical illusion made out of wood, I was
hooked. I feel like I have only begun to scratch the surface of what optical
illusions are possible with wood.
2. Can you remember your first woodworking project? Describe it a bit,
whether it is a gizmo you worked at as a little kid or something that was
sold at a large scale.
I remember one of my first woodworking projects, when I was probably 12 or
13 years old, I designed and cut a wooden sword out of plywood on a band saw.
The band saw is a great tool for beginners because it is considerably safer than a
table saw or a miter saw, and is relatively quiet and easy to use.
3. What is your greatest strength? How does it help you as a
Woodworker?
My greatest strength as a woodworker is probably my ability to try new
things. Even with all the expert advice I have been given by other
woodworkers over the years (which has been a huge part of my learning),
and all the woodworking research I have done, my greatest breakthroughs
have always come from just experimenting. This method of experimenting
does lead to many failures, but it is true you learn so much more from
failures than successes. I highly recommend that anyone interested in
woodworking get their hands on some various hardwood and softwood
scraps and try random experimenting: hammering, cutting, gluing, bending,
sanding, and oiling them. Make a mess, this is how to learn about wood.
My latest woodworking epiphany derived from needing a new way to make
complex patterns on cutting boards. The traditional method of gluing and
clamping strips or shapes of wood together was not time or cost effective for
the uniqueness of my designs. So, I researched everything I could find about
laminating, and veneering wood in the context of cutting boards. I found
surprisingly little information about this, and I thought to myself “There
must be a reason no one is using these processes to make cutting boards.”
Still, I couldn’t figure out “why not?” For three months I experimented with
different woods of various thicknesses, gluing and laminating and veneering
until I found a way I liked. Then I made a test model and tested the cutting
board in my own kitchen. This is how you really know if something works,
you make it and then use the heck out of it. If it holds up, then you have a
winner!
4. Chronologically describe what you are going through (feeling and
thoughts) on your way to work.
I am convinced that making optical illusion patterns out of wood is one of the
main reasons I was put on this Earth. The moment I started making
cube/hexagon wood art, everything started falling into place. It was as if some
unseen hand or intelligence was guiding my every move. There are still many
obstacles along the way, but I can honestly say that I am simply a conduit for
channeling some powerful artistic force. I believe everyone has this artistic
spirit force in their lives. The hard part is listening to it when it conflicts with
your practical day-to-day life. For me, this meant quitting my day job, staying
up long nights working wood, and reaching out to everyone I could to find
support and resources. This can be a scary process, but when you know in your
heart that it is your path, then it will always work itself out.
5. What is your favorite book/magazine on woodworking? How about your
favorite site?
There is a woodworker based in Holland named Thomas Anton Geurts (TAG
Woodworking) who I most closely identify with in the woodworking world.
Even though I have never met Thomas, some of the YouTube time-lapse videos
he creates of his wood projects are simply stunning. Like me, Thomas has a
great interest in hexagonal shapes and optical illusion.
6. What is the most frustrating aspect of your job as a woodworker? And the
most rewarding one?
The most frustrating part of woodworking for me is not having enough work
space. The five primary bench tools I use for my woodworking are: a compound
miter saw, table saw, small jointer, thickness planer, and drum sander. These
tools alone take up most of my shop because of the space needed around them
to work efficiently. You also need some form of sawdust collection system,
which takes up even more space. I have found that putting all my tools on
rollers and converting outdoor areas into usable space are great space-savers.
Also, I have to focus on making smaller items for the time being due to limited
work space.
The most rewarding part of my work is probably when I find just the right piece
of wood for a project. I have more different species of wood in my shop than I
can count, and I take great care and time in individually handling many different
boards and scraps and “asking” them what they want to made into.
7. From your point of view, is woodworking an art or a science?
Any woodworking is both an art and a science. The knowledge of wood
properties is a science, and the bringing out of the woods’ natural beauty
through working and finishing is an art.
8. Tell us something unusual that happened in your career.
When I was in Peace Corps in Ethiopia a few years ago I had the opportunity to
learn about working bamboo from an Ethiopian bamboo furniture maker.
Bamboo is not technically a wood, but it is more sustainable to use than wood
because of its fast growth rate. Bamboo is also a superb building material
because has a compression strength-to-weight ratio of steel. I also honed some
of my hand tool skills while living in Ethiopia, because power tools and
consistent electricity were rare luxuries. You can check out some of the
beehives I made in Ethiopia at
http://devinandjillinethiopia.blogspot.com/2014/03/
9. Tell us about how you deal with safety issues in your job
The type of woodwork I do (cutting tiny shapes of wood) has the potential to be
very dangerous. The last thing I want to do is get my fingers anywhere near a
saw blade, so I have to get creative. I use a good deal of jigs, clamps, and
especially masking tape to secure small pieces of wood while cutting. This
process of securing wood firmly before cutting allows me to cut even the
smallest bits of wood and reduce waste. Even with all the securing mechanisms
I use, I inevitably still have bits of wood catch a saw blade and fling into my
face. I will never touch a saw without safety glasses on. I also wear a respirator
with an organic filter when cutting plywoods with possibly toxic glues.
10. If you had no limits (money, resources), what would you create?
I would love to do some public art installations of geometric wood designs. I
taught a volunteer art class with some grade school kids last year, and they
really enjoyed assembling shapes of wood together into patterns. I will probably
apply for a grant in the next few years to do a larger-scale wood-art project with
youth. This project will ideally consist of dozens of individual wood-art pieces
made by kids that I combine into a huge wall-sized panel and display at the
local library or schools.
11. Share something you would like the world to know about you or your
ideas.
Many of my design ideas were inspired by cube/hexagon crop circles. The crop
circles mysteriously appear in southern England wheat fields every summer.
Crop circle art is, in my opinion, the highest modern art form in existence. The
designs are beautiful, expansive, and geometrically precise to a level that seems
almost impossible. One great thing about the best crop circle designs is that they
cannot be trademarked because no one can prove credit for making them.
12. What advice do you have for young woodworkers reading this interview?
There are so many older, retired woodworkers who are looking for younger
people to share their craft with. Many older woodworkers have so much to
share. Besides their crafting wisdom, they usually have ample time to teach, and
they have a lifetime of accumulated woodworking tools. I am one of the
younger members of my local woodworking guild, The Siskiyou Woodcraft
Guild in Southern Oregon/Northern California, and I imagine there are similar
guilds in most parts of the U.S.
13. If our readers had to follow you on or wanted to reach out, what would be the
best way to go about it?
To see my work, visit my blogsite at www.danceswithwoods.com
I am currently working on a more comprehensive website that will be up in
the next year under the same URL.
e-mail me at devinklarer@gmail.com