Assembly in Wood by Mary Erickson, Ph.D.

Wood is a very common construction material. Today’s builders purchase machine-cut wood in standard sizes and shapes, like beams and boards, to make the frameworks of buildings and furniture.

On the right side of the picture are natural redwood logs harvested from the forest. In the background on the left side are machine-cut boards that are cut from logs after the bark is removed.

The person who made this table did not use machine-cut wood boards from a lumber yard. Every piece of this table was individually selected from the forest for its natural shape, color, grain and texture.

Even though all of these pieces of wood have some similarity in shape, it is easy to recognize the machine- cut pieces on the left when compared with the natural qualities of the pieces on the right. Which set is more varied and interesting? Which set is more practical and predictable?

Compare the uniformity of the machine-cut dowels on top with the diversity of the natural sticks below. Describe specific differences in shape, color and texture among the sticks.

Which fence was made from branches found in nature? Which fence was made from machine-cut boards? How can you tell? Garden fence Corral fence

Which bird was made from machine-cut wood boards? Which was made from natural branches found in nature? How can you tell?

Which lodge’s architecture has more natural looking logs? Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite, Calif. Bright Angel Lodge Grand Canyon, Ariz.

Compare these close-up photos of a traditional Navajo hogan and a modern log house. What are some advantages of logs taken directly from nature? What are some advantages of machine- cut wood?

Some builders and artists like to combine machine- cut wood pieces with natural parts. What might be some of the advantages of using both types of wood?

Which pieces are natural? Which pieces are machine-cut? What colors and textures do you see? Shirley Wagner is a wood sculptor. These are examples of some pieces of wood she uses in her work.

Wagner experiments with several arrangements before making her final work. What is the same in both arrangements? What is different?

The final version of Wagner’s artwork is called: The Past in the Present What interesting shapes, grains, colors and textures do you see?

You will be making a panel that shows distinctive visual features of wood. It should use natural wood parts. You may also use machine-cut wood parts, if you choose. This panel, in the form of a picture frame, combines natural and machine-cut parts assembled on a cardboard backing (which is also a wood product).

You will need a variety of dried twigs and white glue. Popsicle sticks, tongue depressors, toothpicks, applicator sticks and recycled corrugated cardboard are optional.

Be sure to protect your work surface with newspaper, paper towels or a paper plate while the glue dries. A primary student made the “A” shape panel on the right on top of a paper plate.

The background for the left panel was made by gluing seven vertical tongue depressors over two horizontal popsicle sticks. The background for the right panel was cut from cardboard and includes initials. What different kinds of natural wood (color, shape, texture, size) can you point to and describe?

Select twigs and pay attention to shape, color and texture. Break them to sizes you need as you work. Try out several arrangements to find the best choices before gluing them in place.

Your final wood panel can be simple or more complex, like these picture frames. Describe the arrangement of twigs in both.

If you want to construct a more three-dimensional piece, ask your teacher to show the “More Assembly in Wood” presentation.