Erik Groenhout explains is a collection of homemade videos on YOUTUBE in which I explain the philosophy behind my work in general, the design and making process of particular pieces of my work, or high-end techniques that support my work.
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In addition to my YouTube collection, there are also other public places where I have presented my work and ideas. All of my work connects back to my philosophy on artistic woodworking, which focuses on four main goals:
1. Following a sustainable approach
2. Merging traditional crafts with computer-aided design and manufacturing
3. Sharing the story of the birth of each product (Mommel)
4. Being committed to making dreams come true
These goals were born from philosophical beliefs I hold, not only about design and woodworking, but also about people and the world at large. If you want to know more and understand why, each goal is described below:
1. Following a sustainable approach
2. Merging traditional crafts with computer-aided design and manufacturing
3. Sharing the story of the birth of each product (Mommel)
4. Being committed to making dreams come true
These goals were born from philosophical beliefs I hold, not only about design and woodworking, but also about people and the world at large. If you want to know more and understand why, each goal is described below:
1. A sustainable approach
There is clearly a mismatch between the available resources and current consumption rates on our globe. In the US we live in the capitalist system and I feel at home with that as long as there is also a strong community spirit. The ultimate survival of mankind depends on nature because we need nature for virtually everything that is really important: food, water, minerals, etc. In this respect, the book Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken, Amory B. Lovins & L. Hunter Lovins reflects my own beliefs. The authors describe how current capitalism is only based on: human capital (labor, intelligence, culture and organization), financial capital (cash, investments, monetary instruments), and manufactured capital (infrastructure, tools and factories). In Natural Capitalism a fourth type of capital, namely natural capital (resources, living systems and ecosystem services) exists. What is most inspiring about the book is that the authors give many innovative examples of how the economy would prosper if we were to incorporate the real cost of the available natural and synthetic resources.
I believe that mankind has to undergo a serious change that would happen most efficiently through politics. Especially as a fresh immigrant to the US, which means I can’t vote, my influence on politics is minimized to about zero. On the other hand, on a microeconomic scale, I have the power to make a clear difference because I determine my own efforts and work. The choice I made as sole member of Green’s Wood Art, LLC is that all wood art that leaves my workshop will have been made in such a way as to minimize the negative effect on the environment during production, and will not be able to harm the environment during or at the end of its Mommel life.
I will translate the Green’s Wood Art, LLC sustainable approach into practical choices without sacrificing artistic or construction quality. Green’s Wood Art, LLC will: use local wood, use biodegradable materials, use biodegradable glues and finishes, recycle old materials and objects into new Mommels, use as little material and energy as possible for a given task, use reversible construction methods to facilitate future restoration, and use healthy methods of production.
local wood
I want to use local wood because it does not make sense to me to use wood that has to be transported over thousands of miles going from one trader, exporter to the other, to finally end up in my hands after so many people have profited from it without actually adding any value. The craftsman in Brazil should add value to mahogany and keep an eye on the well-being of the Brazilian forest. I will keep an eye on the Maine forests.That is why my customers can’t buy a mahogany, ebony or bubinga table from me. I will stick to ash, maple, birch, butternut, (red) oak, and other trees that grow locally. If I find an old piece of furniture made of good, exotic wood at the dump, I will use it, but I will not import raw materials. By choosing for local wood, the community where I live profits foremost from my activities. Because my market will be the global market the problem of transportation has to be addressed by making objects that will be as light and small in volume and weight as possible.
biodegradable building material
Biodegradable materials will have my preference. For a woodworker it is not very hard to stick to biodegradable materials, but there are some pitfalls. For example, some decorative materials, like plastic laminates and bamboo boards have a high content of synthetic resins and are, therefore, not part of my craft. I don’t see any objection to using materials that can be recycled back into the industrial chain without waste, such as glass, brass, and certain plastics, but I will try to avoid them whenever there is a biodegradable alternative. I like the feel of cotton and wool better on my skin and likewise prefer the touch and look of wood, leather and natural stone. I don’t judge the use of other materials in other domains, for example the use of carbon fiber and high-tech laminating techniques to save weight in auto construction would be in favor of the environment in the example of hyper cars. Nevertheless, I do have to make a personal choice regarding the materials I will work with, and for the purposes of Mommel making, I believe natural is the best choice from both an aesthetic and a human health and global sustainable standpoint.
biodegradable glues and finishes
The arguments I used for biodegradable also apply to glues and finishes. If I want to make a finish that is truly green, I should use natural waxes, oils, varnishes, soaps and solvents. There are also natural products that are toxic. Some exotic woods are toxic, and, for example, the fumes of natural turpentine are hazardous to brain development. There are increasingly more alternatives for the harmful synthetic and natural products on the market, but we have to put a little more effort into finding and using them. Nevertheless in the cold Maine climate it is contra productive to use bone glue because I should heat up the parts I want to glue and the glue pot uses electricity. This is an example where I might choose to use pvac glues. I advocate nana glues that are reversible but I am afraid we have to wait for that a little longer.
recycling
It is a good idea to reuse (furniture) parts and building materials instead of dumping them when they start falling apart or people want to get rid of them. Using an existing drawer in a new cabinet or legs from a bed in a side table could work out very well even as a kitchen made from old floor planks. On the other hand, recycling can be a dangerous thing, especially because it is possible for valuable cultural goods to get destroyed. If we do this type of recycling with care, it might offer free materials, time and money. Some old building materials offer us wood of a very high quality that is hardly available in fresh, recently harvested, logs. A well-built piece of furniture can be restored over the lifetime of many generations. Restoring is not the same as recycling parts or repairing. A restoration or conservation of furniture is another craft and skill (not my specialty), which I highly recommend for high end pieces of old furniture. Restoration is not my specialty because it doesn't have enough artistic freedom for me to enjoy doing it; my talent is creating. Every creation comes with a certain level of destruction, and that does not fit with true restoration.
saving material and energy
Planks are sawn, but the Vikings split their wood without creating any dust. The same technique was used for the round parts of original Windsor chairs. There are many more examples, such as the original cedar shingles that were split to obtain a more durable building material. Splitting saves energy, it does not create wasted and unhealthy dust, and it provides stronger and more durable parts. It is a technique I want to explore and bring to a certain perfection for the above reasons. Often, wood constructions, especially in furniture, are overly bulky. Legs are thicker than necessary, and drawer sides are much thicker just to hold the bottom. Therefore, we need another drawer construction. A good example of a minimum use of material are the very delicate Italian Chiavara chairs, which have been made since 1807 and have proven to be durable. I am looking for alternative construction methods to save material and energy. Double curved forms, like egg shells, are much stronger than flat panels; therefore, I will use my knowledge as a naval architect to create delicately-curved panels in furniture and create new bomb cabinets.
reversible construction
Before I explain what I mean by reversible construction, I have to explain that every piece of furniture, even the simplest table, is made of several pieces of wood that are individually shaped (legs, sides and table top) and then glued together. Since World War II Pvac glue (polyvinyl acetate glue, better known as white wood glue) became the standard in the wood industry. Before that, gelatin glues from bone, skin, and fish were most common. If you talk with furniture restoraters who work on contemporary classics, you will find out that their main concern is the impossibility of dissolving the white (pvac) wood glue or even worse, epoxies and polyurethane glues. All of these synthetic glues make it impossible to separate the individual parts of a piece of furniture. Without separating parts, it is most often impossible to replace a broken part. This is how we end up with disposable furniture. If I want my furniture to last many generations, I should use reversible glues to make restoration possible. Glue manufacturers have not yet developed a reversible glue; therefore, I have to rely on the old pre-war gluing techniques. In case I have to make a piece of furniture for a vegetarian this could become an issue. I can make exceptions until there is a manufacturer who sees the light and develops a reversible nano glue that can work as a switch: it sticks, it does not stick. A simple change would cause a revolution in durability.
healthy working environment
It is actually very simple. If the methods I use don’t create an unhealthy working environment for myself and my wife and two kids who live in the appartment under my workshop, the objects that will come out of my shop will be okay for my customers too.
2. Merging traditional crafts and computer-aided design and manufacturing
A craft is driven by the material that is processed. In other words, the material a craftsman works with dictates the tools and methods. On the level where the skin of a wooden plank is cut by steel, nothing has changed since the Stone Age. If wood has not changed, the way to cut it most efficiently will not have changed, which means that true craftsmanship is essentially happening on this micro level between the surface of the wood and the cutting edge of a tool. Cutting tools have changed from manually driven to mechanical, and then from mechanical to computer controlled, but craftsmen still have to use the same basic skillls (knowledge of the material, construction methods, and tools, while dealing with form, proportion and artistic skills) to change a plank into a piece of Art. That is why a modern craftsman uses traditional tools alongside computer-controlled technology. The secret of the craft is still in the sharp tool edge and the woodfiber.
3. Sharing the story of the birth of each product (Mommel)
The grand table in your dining room and the cabinet in your hallway are chosen to serve your needs and share your home as faithful friends. Pieces of furniture are like creatures in the sense that they are present or shy, they have their characteristic looks, features, scars and wrinkles. I call these home creatures Mommels. Mommels can stay in families for centuries if they have quality and dignity. The patina on their cheeks will grow and the story of their being will develop over the decades. My philosophy is that if you knew from which forest the planks were cut, why and how a Mommel was designed and made, and who made it, furniture would come even more to life. I want to add that dimension to my wood art by adding the story behind the creation. I buy most of my lumber from local lumberyards who cut the logs in the forests around my hometown, Mount Vernon, Maine. If I am able to pick the log myself in the woods, I would prefer that, although it is not always possible. The saw mill cuts the logs according to my needs and I dry and keep the planks in the order they came out of the log in order to match patterns and to make sure that a specific color in a log will be continuous through a whole piece of Art. This is the starting point of quality. From there I create my objects by using and cutting out characteristics of each individual plank I choose to work with. Each creation will start from a different approach; for example; a concept or a philosophical idea, a specific customer wish, a practical solution, or just some sketches that arose from fantasy. How and why I take certain steps in the process of creating will be described in a short journal that accompanies each Green’s Wood Art product in the hope it will allow each Mommel to come to life before it even enters your home.
4. Being committed to making dreams come true
I like to be challenged in my craft and would like to make elaborate and complicated, high-end objects, but I also like it if my costumers are happy and get what they needed and wanted. Therefore, I spend time in finding out what the customer wants and come up with solutions that fit within the goals of Green’s Wood Art, LLC.
There is clearly a mismatch between the available resources and current consumption rates on our globe. In the US we live in the capitalist system and I feel at home with that as long as there is also a strong community spirit. The ultimate survival of mankind depends on nature because we need nature for virtually everything that is really important: food, water, minerals, etc. In this respect, the book Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken, Amory B. Lovins & L. Hunter Lovins reflects my own beliefs. The authors describe how current capitalism is only based on: human capital (labor, intelligence, culture and organization), financial capital (cash, investments, monetary instruments), and manufactured capital (infrastructure, tools and factories). In Natural Capitalism a fourth type of capital, namely natural capital (resources, living systems and ecosystem services) exists. What is most inspiring about the book is that the authors give many innovative examples of how the economy would prosper if we were to incorporate the real cost of the available natural and synthetic resources.
I believe that mankind has to undergo a serious change that would happen most efficiently through politics. Especially as a fresh immigrant to the US, which means I can’t vote, my influence on politics is minimized to about zero. On the other hand, on a microeconomic scale, I have the power to make a clear difference because I determine my own efforts and work. The choice I made as sole member of Green’s Wood Art, LLC is that all wood art that leaves my workshop will have been made in such a way as to minimize the negative effect on the environment during production, and will not be able to harm the environment during or at the end of its Mommel life.
I will translate the Green’s Wood Art, LLC sustainable approach into practical choices without sacrificing artistic or construction quality. Green’s Wood Art, LLC will: use local wood, use biodegradable materials, use biodegradable glues and finishes, recycle old materials and objects into new Mommels, use as little material and energy as possible for a given task, use reversible construction methods to facilitate future restoration, and use healthy methods of production.
local wood
I want to use local wood because it does not make sense to me to use wood that has to be transported over thousands of miles going from one trader, exporter to the other, to finally end up in my hands after so many people have profited from it without actually adding any value. The craftsman in Brazil should add value to mahogany and keep an eye on the well-being of the Brazilian forest. I will keep an eye on the Maine forests.That is why my customers can’t buy a mahogany, ebony or bubinga table from me. I will stick to ash, maple, birch, butternut, (red) oak, and other trees that grow locally. If I find an old piece of furniture made of good, exotic wood at the dump, I will use it, but I will not import raw materials. By choosing for local wood, the community where I live profits foremost from my activities. Because my market will be the global market the problem of transportation has to be addressed by making objects that will be as light and small in volume and weight as possible.
biodegradable building material
Biodegradable materials will have my preference. For a woodworker it is not very hard to stick to biodegradable materials, but there are some pitfalls. For example, some decorative materials, like plastic laminates and bamboo boards have a high content of synthetic resins and are, therefore, not part of my craft. I don’t see any objection to using materials that can be recycled back into the industrial chain without waste, such as glass, brass, and certain plastics, but I will try to avoid them whenever there is a biodegradable alternative. I like the feel of cotton and wool better on my skin and likewise prefer the touch and look of wood, leather and natural stone. I don’t judge the use of other materials in other domains, for example the use of carbon fiber and high-tech laminating techniques to save weight in auto construction would be in favor of the environment in the example of hyper cars. Nevertheless, I do have to make a personal choice regarding the materials I will work with, and for the purposes of Mommel making, I believe natural is the best choice from both an aesthetic and a human health and global sustainable standpoint.
biodegradable glues and finishes
The arguments I used for biodegradable also apply to glues and finishes. If I want to make a finish that is truly green, I should use natural waxes, oils, varnishes, soaps and solvents. There are also natural products that are toxic. Some exotic woods are toxic, and, for example, the fumes of natural turpentine are hazardous to brain development. There are increasingly more alternatives for the harmful synthetic and natural products on the market, but we have to put a little more effort into finding and using them. Nevertheless in the cold Maine climate it is contra productive to use bone glue because I should heat up the parts I want to glue and the glue pot uses electricity. This is an example where I might choose to use pvac glues. I advocate nana glues that are reversible but I am afraid we have to wait for that a little longer.
recycling
It is a good idea to reuse (furniture) parts and building materials instead of dumping them when they start falling apart or people want to get rid of them. Using an existing drawer in a new cabinet or legs from a bed in a side table could work out very well even as a kitchen made from old floor planks. On the other hand, recycling can be a dangerous thing, especially because it is possible for valuable cultural goods to get destroyed. If we do this type of recycling with care, it might offer free materials, time and money. Some old building materials offer us wood of a very high quality that is hardly available in fresh, recently harvested, logs. A well-built piece of furniture can be restored over the lifetime of many generations. Restoring is not the same as recycling parts or repairing. A restoration or conservation of furniture is another craft and skill (not my specialty), which I highly recommend for high end pieces of old furniture. Restoration is not my specialty because it doesn't have enough artistic freedom for me to enjoy doing it; my talent is creating. Every creation comes with a certain level of destruction, and that does not fit with true restoration.
saving material and energy
Planks are sawn, but the Vikings split their wood without creating any dust. The same technique was used for the round parts of original Windsor chairs. There are many more examples, such as the original cedar shingles that were split to obtain a more durable building material. Splitting saves energy, it does not create wasted and unhealthy dust, and it provides stronger and more durable parts. It is a technique I want to explore and bring to a certain perfection for the above reasons. Often, wood constructions, especially in furniture, are overly bulky. Legs are thicker than necessary, and drawer sides are much thicker just to hold the bottom. Therefore, we need another drawer construction. A good example of a minimum use of material are the very delicate Italian Chiavara chairs, which have been made since 1807 and have proven to be durable. I am looking for alternative construction methods to save material and energy. Double curved forms, like egg shells, are much stronger than flat panels; therefore, I will use my knowledge as a naval architect to create delicately-curved panels in furniture and create new bomb cabinets.
reversible construction
Before I explain what I mean by reversible construction, I have to explain that every piece of furniture, even the simplest table, is made of several pieces of wood that are individually shaped (legs, sides and table top) and then glued together. Since World War II Pvac glue (polyvinyl acetate glue, better known as white wood glue) became the standard in the wood industry. Before that, gelatin glues from bone, skin, and fish were most common. If you talk with furniture restoraters who work on contemporary classics, you will find out that their main concern is the impossibility of dissolving the white (pvac) wood glue or even worse, epoxies and polyurethane glues. All of these synthetic glues make it impossible to separate the individual parts of a piece of furniture. Without separating parts, it is most often impossible to replace a broken part. This is how we end up with disposable furniture. If I want my furniture to last many generations, I should use reversible glues to make restoration possible. Glue manufacturers have not yet developed a reversible glue; therefore, I have to rely on the old pre-war gluing techniques. In case I have to make a piece of furniture for a vegetarian this could become an issue. I can make exceptions until there is a manufacturer who sees the light and develops a reversible nano glue that can work as a switch: it sticks, it does not stick. A simple change would cause a revolution in durability.
healthy working environment
It is actually very simple. If the methods I use don’t create an unhealthy working environment for myself and my wife and two kids who live in the appartment under my workshop, the objects that will come out of my shop will be okay for my customers too.
2. Merging traditional crafts and computer-aided design and manufacturing
A craft is driven by the material that is processed. In other words, the material a craftsman works with dictates the tools and methods. On the level where the skin of a wooden plank is cut by steel, nothing has changed since the Stone Age. If wood has not changed, the way to cut it most efficiently will not have changed, which means that true craftsmanship is essentially happening on this micro level between the surface of the wood and the cutting edge of a tool. Cutting tools have changed from manually driven to mechanical, and then from mechanical to computer controlled, but craftsmen still have to use the same basic skillls (knowledge of the material, construction methods, and tools, while dealing with form, proportion and artistic skills) to change a plank into a piece of Art. That is why a modern craftsman uses traditional tools alongside computer-controlled technology. The secret of the craft is still in the sharp tool edge and the woodfiber.
3. Sharing the story of the birth of each product (Mommel)
The grand table in your dining room and the cabinet in your hallway are chosen to serve your needs and share your home as faithful friends. Pieces of furniture are like creatures in the sense that they are present or shy, they have their characteristic looks, features, scars and wrinkles. I call these home creatures Mommels. Mommels can stay in families for centuries if they have quality and dignity. The patina on their cheeks will grow and the story of their being will develop over the decades. My philosophy is that if you knew from which forest the planks were cut, why and how a Mommel was designed and made, and who made it, furniture would come even more to life. I want to add that dimension to my wood art by adding the story behind the creation. I buy most of my lumber from local lumberyards who cut the logs in the forests around my hometown, Mount Vernon, Maine. If I am able to pick the log myself in the woods, I would prefer that, although it is not always possible. The saw mill cuts the logs according to my needs and I dry and keep the planks in the order they came out of the log in order to match patterns and to make sure that a specific color in a log will be continuous through a whole piece of Art. This is the starting point of quality. From there I create my objects by using and cutting out characteristics of each individual plank I choose to work with. Each creation will start from a different approach; for example; a concept or a philosophical idea, a specific customer wish, a practical solution, or just some sketches that arose from fantasy. How and why I take certain steps in the process of creating will be described in a short journal that accompanies each Green’s Wood Art product in the hope it will allow each Mommel to come to life before it even enters your home.
4. Being committed to making dreams come true
I like to be challenged in my craft and would like to make elaborate and complicated, high-end objects, but I also like it if my costumers are happy and get what they needed and wanted. Therefore, I spend time in finding out what the customer wants and come up with solutions that fit within the goals of Green’s Wood Art, LLC.