photo by Anna Campbell

Check out this veneer coffee table by chaboo artist Jason Hernandez.  When I visited him in his shop a few months ago he was just starting to lay out the veneers he had cut and told me about his idea.  Now its done and he had the piece photographed by Project Chaboo photographer Anna Campbell.  Im glad people have been connecting through the project.

photo by Anna Campbell

MMMmmm.  Pretty SICK if you ask me!  The design of the pattern is just killer and add to that the figure in the veneers- makes my spine tingle.  You can see Jason’s work on his website here.  Hes teaching a class at OCAC this summer called Elements of Furniture Making for beginning through intermediate woodworkers.  Learn from the master!

I first saw this piece by Jason Hernandez at ShowPDX 2008 thinking ” I HAVE to meet this guy” and grabbed his business card.  The woodworking skill and design was clearly at another level.

I later found out this piece below won the award for best furniture of the year in Portland Spaces Magazine.  He described to me that the design is an intentional departure from his regular aesthetic which is heavily influenced by his formal woodworking schooling at College of the Redwoods.  Im drawn to the “Jetsens” like forms.  Make sure you click on this link to go to a great writeup on his piece.

He was nice enough to give us a tour of his shop today.  I love seeing people’s workspaces.  I like checking out their organization, little models and prototypes they have lying around, and of course- geek out on powertools. Jason told us about new projects hes working on, some woodworking techniques, and the chaboo he has started.

Jason Hernandez Shop Visit from Ken Tomita on Vimeo.
Ive been nice and havent embarrassed Jason in this blog post yet but that wouldnt be fair to all the other artists Ive ripped on so Im going to embarrass him by featuring him in the first VIDEO on this blog.  YAY!

Chaboo by Jason hernandez from Ken Tomita on Vimeo.
Jasons chaboo is made of Ash which will be stained black. There will be an aluminum feature as well that will contrast nicely with the black. Cant wait to see it!

Project Chaboo has really taken off since the last photo shoot.  The energy of the people involved drive the project further and further.  Revised participant list here.

Im doing a final round of recruiting and have met/talked to many interesting people who would like to be involved.  Here they are and some early ideas they have for chaboos

card design by Amy Ruppel

Amy Ruppel- painting, illustration > thick felt, natural tree branch

Maren Jensen- illustration > dry point etching

Sara Huston - furniture design

Jason Hernandez - wood > conceptual

Orange - salvaged materials

Marshall Ryan - architecture > new material selection

Erin Albin - screenprinting, fabric > removable cushion

Ryan Thomson - architecture > split design, fasteners

Lisa Kuhnhausen - interior design > string, wrapping, clothing

Sarah Bennet - wood/epoxy backfill

Brendan Budge - industrial design > steel, bamboo integration

Don Jensen - cantilevered chaboo

Megan Scheminski - painting > experiment with sumi ink

David Butts - inventor > kinetic sculpture

Marc Riera - architecture > sculpture, glass

Stephanie Beamer - furniture

Ryah Radomski - furniture > laminating aluminum blinds

John Paananen - interior architecture

Emily Steen - graphic design, environment design

Oluwaseyi (Shay) Sosanya - mechanical engineering> triangles

Tom Huang - furniture design > bamboo weaving

Potholders by Erin Albin of Appetite

In no particular order here are the artists participating so far:

Alisha Wessler - illustration

Lauren Wessler - wood, paper mache

Jennifer Mercede - painting

Chris Haberman - painting

Sohaila Adela - illustration

Kelly Neidig - painting

Nell Warren - painting

Robin Kaplan - illustration

Dave Laubenthal -wood, metal

David Bertman -wood, metal

Kari Merkl - metal

Joel Wakeman - wood

Juno Lachman - glass

Eric Day - wood, metal, fiberglass

Todd Griffith - painting

Joe Mansfield - laser

George Ramos - wood

Mike Halvorson - wood

Paul Sykes - wood

Lindsay Holmes - recycled skateboards

Jess Hirsch - watercolor

APAK - illustration, painting

Erin Albin (appetite) - screenprinting/fabric

Brendan Budge - industrial design

Lisa Kuhnhausen - interior design/fashion

Jason Hernandez - wood

Sarah Bennet - wood, epoxy resin

Karl Ramentol - industrial design

Ken Tomita - wood, bamboo

Amy Ruppel- designer

Maren Jensen- illustration

Sara Huston - furniture design

Orange design.build - salvaged materials

Marshall Ryan - architecture

Ryan Thomson - architecture

Megan Scheminske - painting

Don Jensen - wood

David Butts - kinetic sculpture

Marc Riera - architecture

Ryah Radomski - furniture

John Paananen - interior architecture

Emily Steen - graphic design, environment design

Oluwaseyi (Shay) Sosanya - mechanical engineering

Tom Huang - furniture design

Ben Wood - furniture

Emily Knudsen - interior design

Corbin Keech - architecture

Jim Haas - furniture