Stephen Thrasher

Somerville

MA

02145

Take a moment to think about the last time you touched an object that gave you a deep sense of satisfaction and appreciation. It might have been a well-loved piece of clothing, a tool that felt solid and worked just so, or a ceramic mug crafted by a skilled artisan. To pause with such an object creates a little bubble, an oasis in the midst of hurry, a sense that not all of life is rushed and disposable. This is what I aim to create when I create furniture. Wood is a wonderful material of warm colors and textures, strong and versatile, worked by many techniques into a large variety of objects, sculptural, practical, or both. I work with solid wood, recently creating pieces that at the smaller scale have flat facets and linear segments, that together emerge into a unified, non-flat whole. I enjoy geometric challenges. I work them into my pieces in patterns and angles. While I started woodworking using hand tools and traditional techniques, I’ve since gravitated toward applying what I learned during my engineering career to my woodworking. This shift is both practical and aspirational. On the one hand, newer technologies can enable more makers to make a living, to create more well-crafted objects, and bring them within the reach of more people. By working with these techniques, I hope to contribute to the shared knowledge of the maker community. At the same time, I see recent technologies as having enormous untapped potential for artistic exploration, and I hope to push myself into these new directions as I continue to design and make furniture.

I am the designer and builder of this object