64 Australian Wood Review
Frank’s Table is the ninth iteration of
a design that has become a signature
piece for Laura McCusker. The fact
that it sold the day before the opening
underscored the appeal of its worked
curves, angles, chamfers and surfaces.
Using a low-tech steel wool in vinegar
ebonising (or ‘pickled’ finish, as Laura
refers to it) silouettes the base, bringing
it into relief and delineating it from the
top and the space it will reside in.Developing the design was purely
pragmatic, Laura said. ‘It’s the shape
we found that you can squeeze the
most chairs around without someone
getting a leg between their knees...
but the curves are just because I love
being able to see the way the grain
migrates around them’.Even before learning of the title of Alex
Springall’s box made from a variety
of native species I thought on how its
built-up construction might have been
a meditation on madness. Reading his
artist’s statement confirmed that his
Dementia Bank was a place that, ‘when
you’ve lost your memories, you’ll find
them here’. Alex wrote that he was also
inspired by the work of Frank Gehry.EXHIBITIONS- Made from American walnut, white ash
and wenge, Roy Schack’s Kiso cabinet
was named after the town in Japan
where the urushi lacquered linen in the
door panel was sourced. - Blair Ossendryver’s Decorus Jocale
jewellery cabinet in blackwood and
rock maple had sides that opened out
to reveal internal storage. - Alex Springall’s Dementia Bank was
laminated and shaped from numerous
Australian species.
international taxation specialist, but
his time at Sturt marked the start of
a new career.At the opening, Roy Schack’s Kiso
cabinet-on-stand drew constant
huddles of attention. Sometimes a
piece, made with all the love and intent
that a maker can express through his
or her attention to detail, can exude
a charisma that draws people to it.
The focal point was a piece of urushi
lacquered linen that was fitted as
a door panel. Dovetails and three-
way mitres, along with careful grain
arrangement all sat quietly within a
canvas of American black walnut.Stuart Faulkner’s Writing Desk and
Paul Nicholson’s Elswick Sideboard
were also examples of work that
quietly showcased the technical
mastery of their makers. If there had
have been a prize for the maker who
finished their piece at the absolute last
minute before the opening, Stuart,
running into the gallery on that day
with two drawers in hand would
have won! But it mattered for naught
of course because the desk was a
masterpiece. Curves everywhere butsubtly so, sleekly fitted shelves and a
leather insert in a muted shade of the
maker’s signature orange, along with
the aforementioned drawers made in
perfect Sturt tradition.After Tom Harrington passed away,
Stuart Faulkner took over as director
and tutor of the wood school and so
his considerable talent for making and
teaching also went into the DNA of
the wood school as it is today. Paul
Nicholson also returned to teach,
and now in second term takes full
time students through the process of
making a dovetail saw. His cabinet
was a tribute to traditions of making
and style, and featured the subtle
contrast of two species of oak.Nick Statham’s Ascension 5 sat high
at the far end of the gallery space.
Part of a series, it is the work of surely
one of the best sculptors in wood
in Australia. Although this piece
appears to be ridiculously difficult
to carve even if accomplished in two
halves, it’s another work of art that
achieves a charismatic presence, here
deriving from its languid and fluid
curves. Simply beautiful.6
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