Scalloped Table of Purpleheart and Maple
Size: 29 3/4” (H) X 16” (D) X 36” (W)
The idea for this table came about at a dinner party where the host had prepared a dish of home grown eggplant. While discussing the fruit / vegetable (?), my wife peeled back the leaves to reveal a white scalloped area between the green stem and the deep purple body. A design was born. For this table, purpleheart is inlaid into the scalloped maple top and around the circumference of the maple legs. Corners of the legs reveal maple splined joints and are visible at the back of the curved top. A note about purple - it is the color of "royalty".
Photographer: Richard White
Please contact the artist for more information.

Ray Riddell            Coventry, CT, USA

Contact
Email: whitedovewoodworking@gmail.com
Phone (860) 742-0254 (H)
(860) 268-4426 (M)

Address:
117 Eastview Dr.
Coventry, CT 06238

Website: www.whitedovewoodworking.com

Artist Biography

My dream started when I was 9 years old and I decided to enter the Soap Box Derby in my home town. The derby required that the contestants build and race the car themselves. I continued building “things” while taking some formal woodworking classes in high school and college. I learned sound and proven joinery and construction techniques during this time. In 1995, at Penland School of the Crafts, I studied furniture design. At this point, woodworking was still a hobby. In 1996, I moved to Connecticut with my family. I began to explore the rich history of New England fine furniture and skilled craftsmen. In 2002, I finally realized my dream of becoming a full time woodworker.

While I have grown in my skill and craftsmanship, I have also grown in my appreciation for the medium in which I work. Wood is so amazing in its variety, color, infinite grain patterns, smell, feel, etc. I specifically look for pieces with natural but unusual grain patterns; small tight knots; and other imperfections. I want the look of the wood to appear to invite you to touch it.

So much is possible in molding and shaping wood. It can be carved, sawn, routed, turned, chiseled, laminated, bent and so much more. Part of my enjoyment in working with wood is the challenge of building what I have just designed. Finally, if I have done my best, the wood and the project itself will be appreciated from one generation to the next.