Anderson Ranch Arts Center
by LiLi Jackson

Anderson Ranch Arts Center has a great atmosphere; it is filled with inspired and inspiring people. I got inspired about marquetry in a class at the Snowmass, Colorado center. I spent a week learning from master Craig Vandall Stevens, in a class that met in the campus "Wood Barn."

For the course, my class used one of the larger shop rooms in the barn, while a turning class taught by Betty Scarpino met in the smaller lathe area. The Wood Program Director, Susan Working, came by occasionally. That particular week, no one was in the machine room much- except for when someone needed to resaw their veneers.

Craig had asked his students to think of a design before coming, and this design was what we were supposed to use to create our marquetry pieces. I had a "woodworkers block" and it took me a few moments before I could draw out my final idea.

Marquetry is an interesting process. First, you drill a hole with an itsy-bitsy tiny drill bit, then you thread a fretsaw through two pieces of veneer taped together - one piece under the other. After threading the blade through, you close the fret saw and cut clockwise at an angle. When finished cutting out a piece, you put the bottom veneer into the top veneer and glue it. Once it's glued and bonded, it's as strong as the rest of the veneer.

I think marquetry on its own is amazing, but it's also one of so many different aspects of woodworking and things you can do to augment woodworking. Craig incorporates marquetry into much of his work, and was one of the instructors who presented his work in an evening slide lecture during the week of my stay.
One of the things that everyone- the instructors, the men and women of varying ages and backgrounds in my class, and other departments - at Anderson Ranch had in common was, we were all there to create. That's what Anderson Ranch is all about: being able to lose yourself in your own creativity.

There was another reason I found the facilities at Anderson Ranch inspirational. After a long day of woodworking, there's nothing better than to sit in a hot tub and look at the stars.