I studied and taught mathematics and computer science for twenty seven years at various universities. But my involvement with wood and trees and making things has been steady, from early high school onward. Perhaps it's no accident that my Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Virginia, "Dendritic and A-set Compactifications," dealt with tree-like structures. And as I gradually switched focus from math to computer science, I was often struck by the prominent roles played by trees in computer algorithms, file structures, and architecture of machines and networks.

Whether ...

I studied and taught mathematics and computer science for twenty seven years at various universities. But my involvement with wood and trees and making things has been steady, from early high school onward. Perhaps it's no accident that my Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Virginia, "Dendritic and A-set Compactifications," dealt with tree-like structures. And as I gradually switched focus from math to computer science, I was often struck by the prominent roles played by trees in computer algorithms, file structures, and architecture of machines and networks.

Whether or not the subliminal "message" was that I really should be working with real-world trees, that is the direction in which I was gradually and inexorably led. In 1989, I embarked upon a life of professional woodworking, making and selling furniture under the name Allenwood. Early on, I discovered a role for humor in my work. In 1992, I coined the term "fun-iture," and Fine Woodworking published the term along with photos of two pieces of my humorous furniture. I still include several fun-iture pieces in my typical show booth.

I also continue to realize the prominent role that language plays. A common phrase or song lyric often inspires a design. And I have continued to write occasional notes, letters, and articles for woodworking publications such as Fine Woodworking, Woodshop News, and Woodwork. I am thus comfortable viewing my work as both "wordworking" and woodworking, and myself as both a "woodwrite" and a woodwright.

My "serious" work is rooted in influences of George Nakashima, whose furniture featured natural edges and emphasized natural defects, and Gerrit Rietveld, whose work was starkly geometric. I enjoy including both natural material and strongly geometric elements in the same piece of furniture, and feel that the contrast between the two is what makes my most satisfying pieces "work."

I am self-taught, work entirely alone, and employ traditional joinery methods such as mortise-and-tenon, frame-and-panel, and hand-cut dovetails. I finish by hand, using tung oil-based wiping varnish, various danish oils, and wax.

Guild and professional memberships:

• Carolina Designer Craftsmen
• Piedmont Craftsmen
• Orange County Artists Guild
• Artspace Artists Association (nonresident affiliate)
• National Association of Independent Artists
• American Craft Council
  

Keith R. Allen