INTARSIA...A CHALLENGING AND
REWARDING HOBBY
INTARSIA.. I will say addicting to some. This is one of the most
fascinating hobbies in the area of woodworking that I have
personally found.
The history of wood intarsia creations is far from clear. The best guess
appears to take us back to the mid 1200's in Italy. Travelers returning
home from trying to find a route to India would no doubt have brought
back wood from trees they had never seen before. These "samples"
were probably assembled into an intarsia wood mosaic of some form for
display. This would no doubt be presented to the king, queen, or
whoever had financed the trip.
We know that this wood intarsia art form all but disappeared for quite
a length of time and was revived by a lady by the name of
Judy Gale Roberts. Many of the ideas about intarsia wood that we
have today were first suggested by this lady. She has been responsible
for a wealth of patterns and ideas.
True intarsia woodworking requires assorted woods of different colors,
the use of these colors, grain structure and direction make beautiful
decorative pictures from wood. No paint or stain is used to change
any intarsia wood color, just wood from assorted wood species give
the different colors.
Do you like working with your hands? Do you like wood, especially
different kinds of wood? Are you interested in creating unusual
intarsia wood art? If your answers are yes, then this wood intarsia art
form just may be for you. You can begin very easily if you have access
to a scroll saw or a band saw with an 1/8" blade. There are free intarsia
woodworking plans online to get you started and the local lumber dealer
or cabinet workshop could be an excellent source of dry intarsia wood.
Are you looking for a rewarding hobby? One that you can use to fill
up those leisure time hours after you retire? One that you could develop
into a home based business? Intarsia wood working is worth considering.
It can be as simple or detailed as you desire, wood intarsia subjects can
have 10-200+ pieces that are sanded and fitted together to form the
final product.
Intarsia woodworking can become addicting, at least for some.
The satisfaction of creating a one of a kind masterpiece from small
pieces of wood is very satisfying. That satisfaction is multiplied when
family and friends comment on your creation or someone wishes to
purchase one of your art pieces.
Intarsia wood art pieces are always one of a kind, finding two pieces
the same shape may be possible but the wood color, grain and direction
will be different. The choices available for people to create special
gifts for special people are what makes Intarsia wood art such an
interesting hobby and the possibility of having a home business.
When experience is gained the creation of your own designs are
constructed then the true creation process can be realized.
Check this out if you would like to get more information from
some of the masters of intarsia. "The Complete Intarsia Manual"
is a first for intarsia publishing because it's much, much, more
than just an ordinary book. The free plans are worth more than the
book and we all need intarsia plans.
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