"Mauna Kea Side Table"
28" L x 18" W x 24" H
The tops feature an inlay of exquisitely book-matched Originally designed as a nightstand to accompany a handcrafted koa wood bed, this table readily adapts for use as a side or occasional table. The suspended top, shoji shelf, and sweeping line of the leg all provide high visual interest in this very practical piece. The top is a framed curly-grain koapanel with ebony inlay |
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A lifelong dedication to the study of woodworking and design began in his family's construction business and was refined through study at Buckminster Fullers' design department at Southern Illinois University. Lake came to Hawaii in 1980 as an architectural woodworker after a woodworking apprenticeship that took him all across the US. These "journeyman" travels put him in touch with master craftsmen, architects, and artists, and allowed him to work on a wide variety of challenging projects. Years spent in the Pacific Northwest allowed him to become involved with forestry as a way of life, and today a cornerstone of the work he produces is his connection with the long term health of our forests. Tai designs and builds fine furniture from local hardwoods. Like most master woodworkers here in Hawaii, Tai believes in protecting and preserving his resources . . . particularly the increasingly rare Hawaiian "curly-grain" Koa. Tai manages a koa forest project in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. He is president of the Big Island Woodworkers Guild and lives in Holualoa, on the Big Island of Hawaii. Tai's work has received numerous awards and images of his work have been published nationally. to See Tai Lake's newest work in our gallery |
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other Hawaii artisans in our collection
Greg Davidge |
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"The Black Book . . In The Know". "Limited Edition"
The former architectural woodworker thrives on koa's colors (blonde to dark-brown, with reds, golds, and yellows woven in) and what he describes as its 'infinite variety of grain'. The wood's downside: Koa is 'very capricious' to shape, he says. 'That beautiful grain makes it a nightmare to work. Every tool in the shop has to be razor sharp.' Each year Lake crafts around 70 studio-furniture pieces-----tables, chairs, desks, and chests --- about half commissioned and the rest destined for a handful of galleries. His rocking chairs, which have long, gracefully recurved bottoms, have become his signature pieces. 'All the lines in my pieces harmonize," he explains. "The components are balanced, and everything is proportional and scaled.' Tai Lake uses hundreds of tools, most of them hand implements to bring forth a piece from the wood. Hand-sanding the finish takes nearly a third of the time. The result: exceptional balance and sensitivity of line. 'To most people, wood is this hard and unyielding thing that has to be forced into shape," says Lake. "But for me, wood is like clay.' . . . " |
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