Patrick Downes

Rockport, ME

Bill’s Piano Chair, 2008

Scorched ash, cherry and driftwood

15"x16"x30"

Collection of Bill Smith

Photo by Jim Dugan

This chair came out of an easy conversation at a diner. As a commission piece for a dedicated pianist, I had to provide the chair he desired—strong, flexible, precisely measured—while pleasing his sense of play. After a walk on the shore with Bill, I suggested using driftwood in the chair along with the cherry he requested. Also, I experimented with texture by charring the ash. Fortunately, the texture of the ash echoes the texture of the driftwood.

To me, furniture is a subtle language. Like a well-crafted sentence, furniture can offer clarity and stillness, humor and flight, and something of poetry. Since I began making furniture little more than a year ago, I’ve used ornery wood, cantankerous wood, wounded wood, and old and brittle wood. I not only accept the flaws, I appreciate them. In these pieces, there are dents, holes, tears, tool marks, and rough spots in the smooth surfaces. I may always try to balance the elegant with the rough and the lofty with the earthbound. – Patrick Downes