George Nakashima

Leveled slab from an oak tree in our yard.

Paul has started work on what is going to be a beautiful showpiece. It is made from slabs that we cut from an oak tree that we had to take down in our yard. He is keeping the live edge in the style of George Nakashima.

George Nakashima was a Japanese-American woodworker who was one of the innovators of the American Craft Movement of the mid-20th century. Born in Washington state, he traveled extensively, living in France, North Africa, India, and Japan. He mastered traditional Japanese hand tools and joinery techniques. Nakashima’s signature woodworking design was his large-scale tables made of large wood slabs with smooth tops and unfinished natural edges.

Conoid Dining Table - George Nakashima

Nakashima explored the organic expressiveness of wood and instinctively knew exactly what the wood was asking to reveal. Instead of forcing a piece of wood to be a square board, he yielded to its natural form whenever possible. He admired the complexity in the grain of older trees that only evolved with time. When you realize how long these trees have lived, it places you in a kind of un-established position. Rather than looking at nature as something to be conquered, you begin to feel the humility of being in the presence of something that has been on this earth longer than any one man could dream to be.

Conoid Bench - George Nakashima

In today’s age of big box stores and mass produced goods, too few of us stop to think about what goes into the products that we buy. Much of it is wood chips that are pressed into a particular shape, leaving no reference of the tree behind.