Wooden It Be Lovely, Say Woodworkers

Even Leatherface of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” notoriety would envy Judith Reifman’s skill.

The sinewy woodworker guides the gnashing teeth of her Briggs & Stratton chain saw with deadly accuracy, ripping into the stubborn flesh of mahogany wood to shape her signature piece, “Erzulie 1,” a full-figured Haitian goddess.

Just down the hall from “Erzulie 1,” a solid-mahogany front end of a 1986 325i BMW juts out of a wall like an auto accident, its yellow blinker flashing distress to a crowd of rubberneckers.

Creator Craig Leese, a master’s candidate in the fine arts program at Cal State Fullerton, explains his car’s dismemberment: “I didn’t need the whole car to illustrate that the traditional quality of wood still has a play in contemporary design.”

Around the corner, Ingemar Persson’s “UFO,” fashioned from flamed maple, hovers over a group of interested earthlings.

These are just three of the handcrafted wood exhibits on display at “California Woodworking 1990,” a juried show at the Brea Civic & Cultural Center Gallery that features the works of more than 60 celebrated craftsmen from throughout the state.

Presented by the Orange County Woodworkers Assn., the exhibition is now in its second week and will continue through Feb. 16. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Thursday.

Despite a slightly warped sense of humor, the show has attracted a serious combination of hobbyists and professionals, including juror Sam Maloof, 74, a John D. MacArthur fellow from Alta Loma, whose work resides in the White House and the Vatican museum.

“This show will let people know what Southern California woodworkers can do,” Maloof said at the show’s opening Jan. 12. “The exhibitors don’t have to take a back seat to anyone.”

More than 130 pieces were submitted for entry in the show before Maloof whittled down the competition to 80 works.

“I tried to make it a well-rounded exhibit,” he said.

The expertly crafted works were judged in four categories--furniture, accessories, wood turning and sculpture--and represent a wide range of styles, including folk, traditional, arts and crafts and post-modern.

“The exhibition offers several looks and changes of pace,” said show chairman Bill Docking. “We have a Chippendale game table and a Greene & Greene recliner, and some highly sculptural pieces with a contemporary Art Deco spin.”

Currently carving a niche for himself at the woodworking exhibition is architect-turned artist Po Shun Leong, whose work, “Complexities and Traditions 1989,” captured the Best of Show award.

Asked how long it took to construct the series of complex hardwood boxes that form the facade of a building, the British-born Chinese artist joked: “All of my 48 years.”

That may not be an exaggeration. As each box is opened, a mysterious inner scene appears like a window on the world’s ancient Oriental, Mayan, Greek and Roman civilizations.

Children are especially enchanted by the hidden spaces and secret compartments of Po’s miniature world.

“Hey dad, this is really rad,” said Brian Griffin, 5, of Duarte, quickly discovering a fascination with the swiveling stack of wooden trays.

Po’s “Pompeii Vase” also captured a first prize, in sculpture. Again, the artist’s fertile imagination plays host to a faraway kingdom where stairs, ladders and crescent-shaped bridges lead past pyramids, trapezoids and other geometrical wonders.

“It’s like a wooden Shangri-La,” said Nancy Anderson, a South Pasadena graphic designer. “I felt the artist somehow rounded up a bunch of termites with Ph.Ds in woodworking and then cut ‘em loose.”

Another featured artist who clearly cuts across the grain of convention is Frank E. Cummings III, whose work, “My Complements in the Crystal Castle,” won first place in accessories.

His ornate “spiritual cabinet” is adorned with an ethereal crown of Brazilian rosewood.

“Although the spires of the crown look parallel, they in fact converge at some celestial crossroads, which tells me that all things meet at a certain time and place,” said Cummings, who is associate dean of the School of Arts at Cal State Fullerton.

As part of the show, woodworking demonstrations will be presented every Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. Today, Jim Impey will share his knowledge on carving, followed by Eljay Overholt on band-saw boxes (Jan. 27), Ed Smet and Len Musgrave on rocking chairs (Feb. 3) and Ken Perez on band-saw lettering (Feb. 10).

“We try to gear the demonstrations toward people who are not woodworkers,” said Al Griffin, president of the Orange County Woodworkers Assn. “There should be some dynamic presentations.”

In the first demonstration, Howard Lewin, a Manhattan Beach woodworker, had the audience practically eating wood shavings out of his hand as he turned out a walnut bowl and vase on his high-speed lathe. Although his demonstration will not be repeated, visitors still can view his turnings, “Tree Nest” and “Space Warp,” inside the gallery.

Gallery coordinator Marie Sofi asks, however, that guests “look with their eyes and not their hands” when perusing the exhibits.

Many of the works also can be purchased, including Po’s Best of Show winner, “Complexities and Traditions 1989.” Prices range from $50 for a miniature to $13,000 for an antelope.

“This isn’t your typical K mart clearance sale,” Docking said.

After making a tour of the gallery, Neal McKencie, a retired aerospace worker from Brea, tried to put the exhibition in some perspective.

“This stuff is simply sensational,” he said. “I just don’t know how it would look in my living room.”

To reach the Brea Civic & Cultural Center Gallery at One Civic Center Circle in Brea, take Lambert Road off the 57 Freeway and head west to State College. Head south to the Brea Mall entrance and park at Nordstrom next to the gallery.

For more information about the exhibition, call (714) 990-7730 or (714) 526-7100.