MEMBER PURSUITS // Michael Wong's Walnut Waterfall Table

Amazing creations seem to emerge from the 3rd Ward wood and metal shop on a regular basis. Take this one for example: Michael Wong's gorgeous Walnut Waterfall Table.  Wong's taken the natural contours of a slab of black walnut and subtlety, skillfully transformed it into an elegant piece of furniture.

"I like to think that when I create something,  design or production-wise, that I can bring insight or a focus on a certain quality that's trying to emerge...but needs help," says Wong. He created the table not by imposing a strict form on the wood, but by reinforcing and refining its natural beauty and vigor. Wong used butterfly joints to prevent the wood from cracking, as well as three invisible joints inside the 45-degree cut. Then came fine sanding and a week's worth of oiling and waxing.

For Wong, a trained sculptor and architect and the founder of ETHER Atelier, the 3rd Ward shop has been a place not just to create but to learn. "When I joined 3rd Ward, I had really basic skills," he says. "I've designed a lot of spaces and cabinets but that doesn't really get you too far in the shop. People are generous with giving advice, and eventually things got more serious through weeks of helping people and sometimes getting work from them."

Wong now plans to start making his own collection, which will be done in metal. (Don't worry, we'll post that work as well.)

For now, click after the jump to feast your eyes on a few more images of the Walnut Waterfall Table and its creation.

-- John Ruscher