Dad made so many beautiful marquetry pictures in his lifetime, and people constantly admire the ones that I have hanging in my home. However, he suffered from an inferiority complex and uncertainty about how his work stacked up against other marquetarians. He subscribed to the "Fine Woodworking" magazine, and invariably, moaned about how his work was not good enough. However, he did join the marquetry society of America, and I am the proud recipient of his membership pin. Good memories of the few years that we worked together! (The above plaque was also made into a small picture - Mother named it "Holy Night" - don't know if that was the original pattern's name or not, but it's very appropriate.
One other thing about this picture. Dad decided that I should be the keeper of it, since it fit exactly over my piano. However, he really let me know later that he would like to have it after all. Ron solved the problem by taking the picture (59" x 29") to a professional photographer in Olympia, who made an exact copy, had it mounted on a sturdy board, and we presented that to Dad at Cody. He was tickled with it. When he died, I decided the copy should go to nephew Ron Blood, whose tapestry began the whole thing. The original hangs in my living room. The history of it is woodburned on the back.
These pictures were taken in Dad's log cabin woodshop that he used when they lived on 93rd S. in Tumwater (Olympia) Washington. This is the German scene that I posted earlier. He made this picture the summer of Mother's initial illness, 1980. In the top picture, you can just barely see the white wooden stool that he used for the first 50 years of making marquetry, as well as the Delta scroll saw that was also that old. The second picture shows him placing the pieces on the pattern. Dad worked out his own technique for making marquetry pictures - it was amazing that he could do the delicate work required, as he developed a familial tremor in his hands as he grew older. Also, it is amazing to note that he was still making marquetry pictures when he died in March of 1993 - and that he had a pair of reading glasses, but seldom used them. They were more of a nuisance to him than a help. Wish some of us had inherited that gene!
Dad (Russell M. Blood) was fascinated with pictures in one of the books I sent Mom and Dad from Germany. The challenge of doing the woodwork on the traditional buildings was something he wanted to try. He made two different pictures. He worked on this one during the summer of 1980 - it was his refuge during the time that Mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, had her surgery, and struggled to cope with the treatments. I'll find the pictures I took of him making this picture when I have a little more time.
I don't know the date for the making of this cabinet, so I expect some of you in the know to tell me. The marquetry pictue inlaid on the front is one that Dad (Russell M. Blood) had made as a picture, also. I always liked the simplicity, and when Dad asked me what I would like to have as an inheritance, I asked for it. I have it full of music, including Mother's old sheet music and a few of her books.
