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Aaron Levine is a woodworker. He is also an artist. And something of a philosopher…scientist…mathematician. All these pursuits are braided together in his impeccably made furniture, which frequently features marquetry in repetitive geometric patterns called tesselations.
The son of a bronze sculptor, Levine grew up doing bronze pours and listening to the lively conversation among the many artists who visited the family house. After earning a BFA in ceramics, Levine apprenticed to Seattle woodworker Ross Day, and launched a career as a furniture maker.
Levine’s furniture embraces traditional craftsmanship alongside cutting edge computer-based techniques. He makes much of it himself, but also collaborates with a range of artisans in specialized fields who bring their own expertise to his pieces. In this audio slideshow Levine discusses his path in the field and the sources of his inspiration.
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Comments
This is truly inspiring art. I know Aaron's designs will influence all of my future furniture builds.
These are beautiful designs and they are enjoyable to look at, but I don't think they are practical for your average woodworker. Of course, we all need a muse, but unless you use a complex tool all the time you are not going to use it well and CAD tools are very complex. Levine also cuts out his designs using CNC tools - expensive(!).
Levine mentions at the end that he feels he is running out of time. If you need to make $200k year to live comfortably (and that is not unrealistic in many areas of the country) and you can only do 6 commissions a year, that is around $33,340 per commission to reach $200k without subtracting the cost of materials, labor, outsourcing, building, utilities, marketing, etc. You probably have to at least double, maybe triple that number once you figure in those costs. Maybe he can do 20 or 30 commissions every year. Maybe he resells the same design and that lowers the cost over time, or even manufactures en mass, but I don't think so from what Levine said in the video.
His work is beautiful, but it isn't for most people because I don't think we could afford it.
Aaron's work is amazing. He is truly an artisan and a master of his craft. Thank you FW, for sharing Aaron story.
You can produce amazing results when you have dripping creative juices flowing through you. I bet there are many other creations that this innovative artist has crafted that I would love to view. I am feeling there are some storage cabinets, racking and shelves, and all sorts of storage solutions at his home which he tactfully handmade himself.
Art is very interesting and each form is unique depending on the creativity of the artist. It can be inculcated onto anything that we possess and this stunning table top is enough to prove that fact. If I was anywhere near that artistic level, my storage cabinets and other furnishing solutions at home would be very fascinating instead of just plain and dull. Each unit will stand out from the others and my guests would definitely be enthralled by them.
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