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I
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
,,PERSONAL STATEMENTS IN WOOD
An abstract submitted in partial satisfaction of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 1n
Art
by
Michael C. Sixbey
June, 1977
I
The Abstract of Michael C. Sixbey 1s approved:
Tom Tramel
(Date)
/)
Ralph Evans
( Da,t'e)
(Date)
California State University, Northridge
11
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
Plates
5
I - The Dining Set
II - Detail, Two of the Chairs
7
I II - Rockers Nos. 1, 4
9
11
IV - Rocker No. 5
V - The Bed Stand, Front View
15
VI - The Bed Stand, End View
17
19
VI I - The Lamp . . .
26
VIII - Cypress Sculpture No. 1
28
IX
-
Cypress Sculpture No.
X
-
Walnut Burl Sculpture No. 1
30
-
Walnut Burl Sculpture No.
3
32
XII - Mother and Child or Cypress
Sculpture No. 2
34
XI
3
XI II - The Cradle . .
37
XIV - The Hope Chest
39
XV - The Old Man
42
lll
ABSTRACT
PERSONAL STATEMENTS IN WOOD
by
Michael C. Sixbey
Master of Arts in Art
June, 1977
It seems to me there are two basic categories into
which one could place information on craftsmen or artists:
philosophy and technique.
And so, perhaps I should divide
this abstract into, first, a statement on my philosophy,
and second, a statement on my technique.
The statement on technique would naturally follow
my statement on philosophy since technique, as I see it,
is the materials and methods used to make a tangible
statement of one's philosophy or ideas.
I believe, however, or perhaps I hope, that my
technique is part of my philosophy.
technique depend on each other.
joined.
My philosophy and
They are inseparably
This joining of techniques and philosophy is very
1
2
much what my "style" is about.
To put what I have said in more concrete terms,
let me say, for instance, that if I were to design a
chair, I would stimulate my thought process by gathering
my materials in front of me while I sketch.
I would make
models, sample joints, and full scale mock-ups.
considerable thought,
After
I would discard 99% of my ideas and
begin work, without a detailed plan.
I allow and
encourage my materials to influence my design.
think of construction technique.
I always
I do not like to design
something abstractly with the idea that "somehow the
construction of the thing will work itself out."
Let me
say, to get back to the idea of the chair, that I have
never designed a chair until it was built.
well in the abstract.
I do not think
For me to leave my designs to a
piece of paper or even a model would be terribly dull and
uninteresting; besides, the results would be very poor.
I cannot imagine limiting my work in the shop to simply
taking measurements and cutting wood ... duplicating what 1s,
already thought out.
Most of my "inspiration" comes with
materials ard tools in hand.
Chairs are beautiful.
But let me explain to you
what I think is so beautiful about chairs.
my ideas are not limited only to chairs.
Of course,
But let's stay
with chairs since they are so ... so human really.
that is, or can be, the point.
And
Look at us humans ... there
3
are billions of us.
We are all different and yet we all
have, I believe Plato or one of those old guys said it,
"humaness."
Even though we are all different, there can
be no mistaking any of us as anything but humans.
nature's creatures and plants have this quality.
to call them nature's mass creations.
different but have "treeness.''
but have "cowness."
All of
I like
All her trees are
All her cows are different
I believe even all her ants are
different but have "antness," if only we could scrutinize
them closely enough.
Man's mass creations are so differ-
ent from nature's in regard to this point; they are all so
exactly alike.
And so, when I mass produce, I like to
produce with an eye toward's nature's mass productions.
In this light,
let me discuss the four chairs 1n
the dining set (Plates 1, 2).
The rocking chairs
(Plates 3, 4) have similar qualities.
Due to my technique
being part of my philosophy, these four chairs are all a
bit different.
same race even.
They are the same species however and the
I believe they are of the same family.
They are quadruplets, in fact.
Perhaps it isn't obvious
in the photographs, but if you could see these pieces, you;
would notice that each chair has a different personality.
Let me detail a few of the differences for you.
the chairs are made from logs:
First,
oak, eucalyptus, olive,
lemon, pecan, apricot, cypress, and black walnut.
Each
chair is constructed from a different combination of these:
4
PLATE I - THE DINING SET
The chairs are made of oak, eucalyptus, olive,
lemon, pecan, apricot, cypress, and black walnut.
They
measure approximately 17'' x 17'' x 34''.
The table is made of oak and koa and measures
3 1 X 4' X 29".
The chair seats are of fiber rush.
6
PLATE II - DETAIL, TWO OF THE CHAIRS
8
PLATE III - ROCKERS NOS. 1, 4
The rocker on the left is of oak and koa.
back is ratan splint.
The
The seat is fiber rush.
The rocker on the right 1s of oak and mahogany.
The back is cane.
The seat is fiber rush.
The chairs measure 29" x 33" x 40".
I
I
•
10
PLATE IV - ROCKER NO. 5
This rocker 1s of black walnut.
back are cane.
The seat and
12
1
woods.
None of the parts are interchangeable for I used
no jigs and shaped each part individually ... and as you
can imagine, each of my logs split differently; this was
very helpful in forming a different character for each
chair.
say.
But the chairs are a set ... they "match," you might
Each chair is delightfully out of square ... each in a
different way.
I like to boast that this took talent, but
let me assure you, it is totally in the technique ... it
really involved no thought process.
I worry that if I
become too practiced in this field, my chairs might begin
to take on the qualities of man's mass productions.
I
see this as a problem already with the rockers since, for
practical reasons, they must be more exactly constructed.
If I were to make another set of these dining
chairs, they would still be of the same family, but would
be children of a later birth.
changes to make.
changes.
There are improvements and
One can always make improvements and
You see, when I said I never design a chair
until it is built, I wasn't being accurate.
design a chair until it is built again,
again.
I never
and then again and
Even if I were to get a chair to the point where
it really and truly was "designed," it would be devastating
for me if I knew there 1vasn' t
at least some "option" to
Improve or change it while in the process of working.
Philosophy and technique;
them.
Technique;
I really cannot separate
let me say something about the tools I
13
use.
The table saw; if I ever lose my fingers, this is
the tool which will do it; the one machine which actually
scares me.
It cuts my rough lumber into useable sizes,
easily saving a great deal of time over hand sawing.
draw knife ... for rough shaping.
The '
The spokeshave ... for less
rough shaping, such a beautiful, smooth cutting tool.
I
love the sound of it cutting, as I do the sound of the
plane.
The plane.
The band saw cuts my curves and rips
long planks when I cannot face the table saw.
The
chisels, gouges and mallet; for roughing out and leaving
a nice surface, for cutting mortises.
I love the
infinite variety of textures obtainable from chisels and
gouges, and all hand tools.
You see, I use power tools
for their speed and accuracy.
But, I like the surfaces
of my works to be hand tooled.
Surface texture and
finish are very important to me.
The god-awful planer.
To go with this tool I
bought myself a set of earmuffs.
The planer gives a flat
surface and even thickness of wood which is a nice
starting point when working on my rocking chairs.
Working
from a machined plank to a rough-hewn rocker is an
interesting process.
to me.
Process; process is very important
I enJOY process especially on my less practical
p1eces, like the bed stand (Plates
s'
6)
and the lamp
(Plate 7) .
I cannot stand it any more.
Let me break 1n and
----·---
·- .
14
PLATE V - THE BED STAND, FRONT VIEW
The bed stand is made of cypress, eucalyptus,
olive, lemon, mahogany, oak, and black walnut.
measures 45" x 36" x 14".
It
16
PLATE VI - THE BED STAND, END VIEW
18
PLATE VII - THE LAMP
The lamp is made of a lemon tree, mahogany, crate
wood, jute, cane, reeds, splint, string, rafia and lamp
hardward.
It is 65" tall.
20
talk about the lamp.
This silly thing was in process two
years ... on and off, of course.
imagination; it's a girl!
Look close and use your
Lacy but arrogant I'd say, a
large head, pigtails, dark bushy hair ... I do mean this as
symbolism not storytelling.
pull her string.
Do look at her closely and
The umbilical cord to the wall is
shielded with heavy cane for "effect" and to protect
against brutal feet.
I keep her turned off most of the
time as I like to view but not to associate with her.
Handy huh?
She does give a nice glowing light, not
practical for reading though.
Don't unplug her.
The
dark bushy hair is useless on the floor and will only
collect dust.
The lamp, of course, 1s really only a record of
the process of building her ... and a bad record at that.
Bad only 1n the sense that visually (and what other use
has it?) it does not record much of what went on around
it during the two years of its conception, as much of the
product of the process was discarded.
In the case of
this lamp, knowing what to discard constituted my
-
"control" over the final product which, by the 1vay, I am
pleased with even if other people don't interpret it the
way I do, which isn't important since it doesn't reside
1n their living room.
The lamp was an unconsc1ous statement.
not preconceived.
It Has
I didn't knoH anything of macrame when
21
I started.
The lamp involved thousands of decisions,
made one at a time.
Many of the decisions did nothing
but cause me to undo previous ones.
other shades before this one.
The lamp had three
Many decisions simply
caused me to realize I couldn't do what I 1vanted because
of previous decisions ... this is the pitfall of not
' preconceiving what you want.
It isn't that I don't want to talk about the tools
I use, somehow it is difficult and troublesome for me.
I
do use them, I suppose, in my own special way which is
important in a paper like this since it would help
explain "how" I produce.
I love my tools.
The "why" is important, too.
I like to touch them, collect them.
enjoy them materially.
My wall covered with tools is
very satisfying for me.
fetish.
I
They are something just short of
I won't, and anyhow I can't, convey to you just
exactly how I physically use my tools ... I use them, I
suppose, the way I think.
So, read this paper and you
will have an insight into how I think.
I sincerely hope
I have developed a personal way of expressing myself.
This, you see, requires a personal way of using my tools.
My brain and soul are my most important tools ... that just
occurred to me.
So, maybe that is what this paper at
least ought to be about.
Materials.
Thinking back for a moment on what I
have written, what possibly could be a better material for
22
me to work with than wood and natural fiber?
It isn't
that I want to exclude any other materials from my
vocabulary that I have chosen wood and natural fiber.
just really like the stuff.
It suits me.
I
Besides, it
would be financially impractical for me to use a lot of
other materials.
Caning, fiber rush and, it seems to me,
most all other natural fibers harmonize well with wood.
Caning and rush are physically very comfortable as chair
backs and seats.
I hope to incorporate leather into some
of my future work.
Have you ever climbed a stairway with a banister
a million other hands had caressed?
Or, have you ever run
your hand across a very old bar top polished by thousands
of hands before you?
Or, an old well-used tool handle of
some sort, or barnyard corral fence post?
same mallet for the past eight years.
I have used the
I never sanded or
oiled the handle of this mallet, yet it has a more
beautiful finish than I have ever accomplished on my
woodwork.
Look closely at my furniture and sculpture and
you will see that seldom do I come close to this kind of
hand "patina.''
But, this is the kind of finish I would
like.
I want my work to look "touched."
work.
I have not yet decided on a name for my show, but
perhaps Touch would be a good one.
Please touch my
Oh! and "in partial
satisfaction of the requirements of the Masters of Arts
23
degree."
Time and patience are the restricting factors 1n
finishing my work.
I do very little, if any, sanding on p1eces 1n
which tool marks are left.
edges.
Sanding dulls crisp tool mark
My rockers, for instance, are not sanded at all
but are oiled with watco oil.
It takes several coats.
have never put on too many coats.
I
Each coat is buffed
with a jeweler's six-inch cotton buff wheel in a
quarter-inch drill for an hour or so to pull out small
splinters and create a bit of that patina look.
I have
never over polished a chair; it is not possible.
If I
have trouble getting the oil to stop "bleeding out," I
apply a coat of paste wax.
I apply paste wax anyhow
sometimes; and always to my finished work.
As a boy, my folks had a lot of wood furniture
and wood floors.
My mom was a believer in paste wax.
11
"Michael, wax the floors," "wax the table,"
another coat.
just wax it.
know.
11
give it
Sometimes, I don't even oil my Hork.
11
And wax it again and
11
I
every so often you
Wax and time are a good combination.
An old,
Hell-cared for oiled and waxed Hood floor is a beautiful
thing.
I believe perfection is a goal
one can work not
11
11
towards 11 which
t0 11 which one can work.
I do think I
have my own special kind of perfection 1n mind.
24
I have discussed only a few of the plates of this
paper.
What of the rest of them?
I hope you can see
that they all have something in common.
I hope you will
see that the common thread running through them is their
maker.
I am god over my creations, you know.
By the way, I hold shaker furniture as the
1
greatest of all my influencers.
Aside from the shakers,
I like African tribal stools, Egyptian furniture, and
also a few examples of primitive furniture in general.
I
am influenced by the "form follows function" thinkers and
by the abstract expressionists for putting so much
emphasis on process.
I think of the cypress and burl sculptures
' (Plates 8-11) as "exploration sculptures."
This includes
the mother and child sculpture (Plate 12) and the bed
stand (Plate 5, 6)
to a lesser extent.
All my works in
cypress come from the same tree trunk; a dirty, roted,
heavily burled, and generally ill tree.
I bolted pieces
of the tree down to a firm base and had at them with
chain saw, drill, router, gouge, rasp, ax, plane and
whatever; and I kept my eye peeled to see what I could
find.
The bed stand 1s made, in part, from this tree
also and with a similar attitude on my part except that
I constructed other pieces with it.
The bed stand was
much more preconceived than the lamp, by the way.
conception of an object, for me, is a very relative
The
25
PLATE VIII - CYPRESS SCULPTURE NO. 1
This sculpture is 51" tall without the base.
27
PLATE IX - CYPRESS SCULPTURE NO. 3
This sculpture is 67" tall without the base.
29
PLATE X - WALNUT BURL SCULPTURE NO. 1
This sculpture is 19-1/2" tall.
31
PLATE XI - WALNUT BURL SCULPTURE NO. 3
This sculpture is 16" tall.
33
PLATE XII - MOTHER AND CHILD OR
CYPRESS SCULPTURE NO. 2
She
lS
63" tall.
35
thing.
Anyhow, with the bed stand I propped the major
pieces together to see how it would lopk before fitting
them.
Shaping was done before, during and after con-
struction.
Construction was done before, during and
after shaping.
Do you understand?
Do I believe in using nails?
absolutely anything that works.
I believe in using
By "works" I mean
physically and aesthetically, of course.
But, the
physical and the aesthetic should not be separated.
cradle (Plate 13) is nailed together.
The
The cradle and, I
must say, the hope chest (Plate 14) also are two fine
designs, if I may be allowed to pat myself on the back,
and this is my show after all.
They have added happiness
to the lives of two good people.
In conclusion, let me say that I wrote this in
one four-hour sitting ... stream of consciousness style.
Upon rereading it, I liked it and so I am leaving the
thing alone with the sincere wish that you will like its
"freshness."
I would like to believe and I do assert
that my work speaks for itself, so do come see my stuff.
But, a little written "blurb" can't hurt, and besides it
is required.
As they said in the old story books,
The End.
As an afterthought, perhaps I should state a few
of my own personal opinions or prejudices which I feel,
on thinking back, greatly influence my work.
These are
36
PLATE XIII - THE CRADLE
The cradle is made of redwood.
The four legs
are easily removed.
The cradle measures 2' x 3' x 15" tall without
the legs.
38
PLATE XIV - THE HOPE CHEST
The hope chest is made of mahogany, birch, maple
and black walnut.
The handles are manila rope.
The hope chest measures 42" x 17 11 x 16 11 tall.
40
feelings which have come to me over a long period of time
and I think they are valid points in relation to me.
I
would not propose to bind them over on anyone else,
however.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say the
following statements are more an analysis or record of my
past work than a statement or prediction of my "style."
My style is a flexible thing.
I'd hate to restrain it.
So, enough of this explaining away.
"very handmade look."
logic in construction.
I like the
I like frame construction.
I like
I have something against glue.
dislike mirror or shiny finishes.
I like tactility.
I
I
want my furnishings to be visually and/or physically
comfortable.
My sculpture is for the domestic scene.
have a thing about the mortise
wedged and pegged.
~nd
I
tenon and I like them
I emphasize the joining of wood.
I
avoid "smooth transitions" and emphasize "logical
transitions."
I believe two pieces of wood joined
together should "obviously" look like two pieces of wood
joined together.
wood.
I like a "direct" approach.
I like
41
PLATE XV - THE OLD MAN
The old man is carved from an olive log.
45" tall without the base.
He is