Welcome to Perfect 45 Degree

JACQUELYN SMITH

BIOGRAPHY

My background in fine art and the construction industry has given me an unusual approach to woodworking and furniture making. I am an artist who makes usable beautiful objects with wood. I have a BFA from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of the Sciences and the Arts in NYC, NY and was a contractor for over 15 years designing and remodeling homes in NYC, NY, Philadelphia, PA, New Jersey and Eugene, Oregon. While studying fine art and learning how to carve wood I also studied woodworking and cabinetry. Later I worked for a couple of high- end architectural woodworking shops in Oregon where I learned in a commercial environment. For me, beauty is equally valued with the usefulness of what I am creating.

I make furniture, woodwork and sculpture. I design and build my own work as well as contract commissions with specific clients. No one can just go out and buy this off a showroom floor or online catalogue. This is furniture made specifically for you by an artist . . . furniture that is a process to create and build from ideas to drawings to models and mock-ups. Together we build the story behind each piece. Your time and ideas and dreams are all a part of this furniture. In the end you will have a piece that will reflect beauty back to you, and tell something about who you are.

Bob's Desk

He wanted a desk out of red concrete with lines reminiscent of a sports car. A pencil drawer was imperative and he had very large speakers that must be set at head height. We could hang them from the ceiling. He did not know what wood to use . . .

Bob’s Computer Desk was more than an exercise merging sculpture and practical furniture design and construction. Every curve and line was evaluated and changed over and over until it was just right. Eventually the exciting inevitable challenge could not be avoided . . . how to build it. At first glance it looks rather simple, and that’s good. The engineering of it, however, was as complicated as getting the lines right. Each piece fits into the other, the entire thing comes apart and the legs and hollow arching beam act as a functional wire chase while suspending a slab of concrete 29-1/2” off the floor. The floor has steel plates under the legs, embedded in epoxy and bolted to the floor joists. It is this kind of problem solving that makes this artist tick. The lines must flow, feel just right under your hand and transport you somewhere even if for just a moment.

Welcome to Perfect 45 Degree

Thursday, April 8, 2010

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