This cabinet is the twin to my "By the Light of the Moon " cabinet. The wood for both came from a tree that was struck by lightning at a camp ground near Lake Isabella. The lightning strike injured the tree and allowed a fungus to infect the wood which is the cause of the striking blue color. A friend of mine was paid to remove the tree and I purchased the wood after running it through his kiln.
All surfaces inside and out have been finished with hand tools. The edged of the raised
panels were carved by hand with a gouge while the remaining surfaces were all planed by
hand. Because the sides of the cabinet are slightly curved the insides of the panels are
planed with a curved bottom plane.
Construction is all sold wood and assembled with hot hide glue with the exception of the
top which was attached using the traditional method of using tapered wood screws. All the
rails and stiles are al put together with bridal joints and the panels were then joined
with splined miters.
Rio Blanco was sold at the November 2006 Contemporary craft market in Santa Monica.
© Robin Corell 2005