It all started from an intarsia teddy bear pattern published in WOOD magazine in 2004. Upon being intrigued by this small bear I learned that the developer of this design was Judy Gale Roberts from east Tennessee.
With Judy's studio being less than a two hours drive from me I quickly availed myself of taking three, three day classes within a five year period and my Intarsia "fix" had taken root. I have now been working at my passion for over 16 years; totaling approximately 600 completed pieces to date. A lot of my work is based on the genius of the patternry of Judy Gale Roberts among others as well as some patterns I've developed on my own
I was born, raised, and worked in the mountains of WNC ---Haywood, Swain, and Buncombe counties. I currently reside in Candler, NC on the outskirts of Asheville, NC. I credit working at my mom's and dad's elbow for development of my skills; with my mom being an excellent seamstress and my dad being a creative wood worker.
Any Intarsia piece involves the following basic steps. First, select a pattern piece, glue it to a color of wood selected while noting grain orientation. Second, cut out the piece under magnification on a scroll saw. Next, the most transformational step is to thin, sand and shape the piece with the overall design in mind. Following, while all the pieces are loose is to apply two coats of gel varnish. Finally, glue the pieces down to an 1/8" to 1/4" thick undercut backing.
Let me know if I can be of further assistance or answer any questions you may have about my Intarsia.