When I had this project and I got very excited to develop something like this
I wanted to be as authentic as possible because it's going to be in a museum
But at the same time I wanted to really show that it is a living craft
it has to be relevant to today's time
it has to really speak to this time
otherwise I'm just copying and copying something that was in the past
and it could be a nice piece but it would be just there you know?
So first you have the design
and the design is based on a geometrical grid
so these are the four-fold and eight-fold grids
so you can see the four-pointed star and you have the octagon
and there's this underlying grid that is based on a 45 degree angle
and it can can be used also as a 90 degree angle
but you can see here the thing is from designing it and seeing the opening
and how can you determine the thickness of wood when you do the screens?
So in this drawing you will see that this is one strip
and this is another strip
but you can see the two opposing
the one in red is the frontside
and blue is the backside
so when you have this joint here and you have another one placed on top
that's what gives you the overlapped joint of the screen.
So the idea is with those grids
there is a beautiful proportion between the thickness of wood and the unique pattern here
The circle is always the maintainer of this proportion
you can see it very clearly
and once we develop this drawing
each one of those units can be also designed once you learn the geometrical pattern of it.
So you can see here that you have a different variation of designs from the octagon and four-pointed star
and they all share the same structure
but then it manifests itself in different variations of pattern.
So how can we take the drawing now to the actual wood?
Ok so traditionally, how is it done?
Do you use tools to mark the wood?
First we need to show the idea, how we get those squares and the opening for the joints - so we have to cut it.
Something similar to this one here
So first we get the mark engaged
And you can see that we've scraped the wood.
So this is the distance, which is this distance here
and then afterwards you use tools like that
To mark you have two different sizes
So you have the size of the score here
and the size of the opening.
So first we start with this.
And this is a technique that we use to mark so that we know that the sizes are always consistent
So we have a square
a big square and a small square
or something just to make just a little bit of a mark
So you can see in the wood which size is which.
So after you have those openings here, we need to use a square
so this is a perfect square.
So now we have the joint that is going to be cut
which is this part
and you have the square piece which is this one here.
And then to determine the cuts
some of those angles within a specific shape
like this one here
this is a specific angle that sits within a square
So you can have that already marked
and you put it in the square here so you have some sort of a guide
and then you do the marking
But as you can see to do this for all of the strips with this takes a lot of time
it takes a LOT of time and effort
So one way of developing it is we started to cut on fixed measurements
but then also we found out at the same time that it still takes time to measure each part
so I found a way to cut the specific designs that I want into a template like that
that can be fixed within the squares
Let's say all the cuts based on this
each on of those squares will fit on the pattern
so you know exactly the distance you need to cut and the shape.
So once we've put all the drawings on each square and you can see where you need to cut
we can even take it to the band-saw
or cut it on the Morso
or with a chisel based on each one of those designs
and based on the composition
Those screens are assembled together without using nails or glue
So the cuts have to be very precise otherwise you will not have this joint perfectly coming together
So all the time while you're working, you always have to file it, to perfect each cut
so as a group, each on of us focuses on a specific cut
and over time, you perfect it.
That's the craftsman
he is a maker who makes things - beautiful objects
but after he does it for a while, he becomes crafted at it
he becomes a craftsman
but that needs time
that needs time and repetition
and to be always conscious and aware of what you do.