Getting into Kumiko

This was my first jump into Kumiko. These pieces were made for a local art show.

The Japanese art of Kumiko caught my attention because of the beautiful patterns, but kept my interest with the process of making them. Every piece of wood has to be hand cut using special jigs, and shaved down to lock in. When done correctly, the entire thing is held together by tension and compression of the wood. But since these were going to be on display and possibly handled by others when I'm not around, I glued these together.

I really enjoy making these as I do designing them. Being in the wood shop can get noise with the vacuum and saws constantly running. But with Kumiko, I can sit down (which is nice) and listen to the radio while I cut and shave each piece. It always very rewarding to put them together like a puzzle. Once the pieces are prepared, the assembly and install fly's.