Gold Stars, Awards and Recognition

As we prepare for upcoming shows: The Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the Texas Furniture Makers Show in Kerrville, Texas we question why is it that we do them? It REALLY is NOT for the Awards or Prizes but more for a chance to push Lou's artistic vision and ability. The Gold Stars, Awards and recognition are always nice (probably necessary in Elementary School) and perhaps validate what the artist is creating but in the end that is not what Lou is working for.

He does this work in Mesquite furniture to satisfy something inside of himself and also to bring out something from the mesquite tree's spirit that is speaking to him. When we started this furniture making journey we had many head scratching, naysayers who did not quite understand what he was doing and why he invested so much time creating the curves that have become a part of his signature style. Lot's of folks just did not "get it". Lou Quallenberg's work is not traditional nor is it really contemporary. We honestly don't know what to call it. He is not repeating designs from the past or copying another style. His work truly is his own. His own Design. His own Style.

Someone recently found a piece online that was an "ill" attempt to copy his look. Lou repeated Charles Caleb Colton's words "Imitation is the sincerest of flattery." Lou also said:

"they can copy only the works I have already produced they can't copy the designs I hold in my head and have yet to produce." Lou Quallenberg

He is right but it still ruffles my feathers a bit. I guess because I feel like they are trying to take something away from him. But they can't.

Another reason we attend these shows is the opportunity to meet such amazing and talented Artists. At the Texas Furniture Makers Show we always look forward to seeing the work of Frank Strazza. (Our inside joke is that Lou has to come up with a Strazzanator) Frank's work is so amazing and he uses only hand tools!! Barry Bradley and Rex White are always coming up with something unique for the Texas Furniture Makers Show, we see them more often because we all have work at the Artisans at Rocky Hill Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas.

The Western Design Conference is the one that really inspires because it brings together western influenced artists from Jewelry, Fashion, Metal, Wood, Leather, and Home Accents. It is a room full of 100 or so Artist's bringing their best. It is pure inspiration from the moment you walk into the gallery setting show. If you consider the amazing talent and hours of hard work that come together under one roof for those few days it will blow your mind. We always hope that while we are there in the midst of that creativity some of that talent and inspiration will somehow sneak it's way into our souls and make us better at what we do.

Bluebonnets, Birthdays, Balance, a Bench & Bugs

That sure is a mouthful of B's.....
The month of April is always a favorite for this double aries household. YES!! that's right two rams in the house and usually butting heads until someone gives up and decides to be the lamb. The first two weeks are birthday weeks for us and it's also that time of year when, thanks to Lady Bird Johnson, the blue begins to fringe the sides of the highways all across this great state. While this year was not expected to show as well as years past because of a lack of rain, and both early and late roadside mowing to prevent fires, it has been pleasant surprise. Some years we observe seas of blue that actually seem like lakes or ponds floating in green pastures. The blue is just the beginning of the spectacular Texas wildflower show that continues on through the summer in layers of gold and a multitude of rainbow colors. We are so blessed to live in the Texas Hill Country in Llano, Texas.

As Lou and I get older it seems our birthdays are times spent in reflection and a point in time, at which a measure can be taken. Did we reach the goals we had hoped to reach? As the time slips by we question, "Are we doing what we were meant to do?" Lou's work in Mesquite is tangible and he will leave behind a legacy of physical objects. I think that is a part of the satisfaction he finds creating this mesquite furniture. When he was building choppers with his friends in the 70's he was doing the same sort of thing - bringing something beautiful, physically into the world. Photography is not the same as producing something that can be touched, tasted, smelled or held. Photography is more about capturing time, on film in the early days and now digitally. While he still enjoys photography his heart and soul go into his mesquite pieces. He has said many times that he will not have enough time to create all the pieces he has in his head. A look into the pages of his sketch books will prove that.

So how do you find balance when you know you will not have time to get it all done before you call it quits on this earth? That my friends is the question we are currently trying to solve and may not ever really find an answer. Lou and I try to live in the moment but often find ourselves looking back at the past or forward to the future. Lou enjoys taking the break, once he finally breaks free, but it is the making a break that is so hard for him. Maybe it is because he is already living in the moment while he works on his pieces. It usually takes an ultimatum or angry outburst from me, to make him take a break and I really do hate to be that person. I often find myself jealous of a piece of mesquite furniture and have to laugh. They are his girlfriends, his babies, his creations and sometimes he has a hard time sending them to their new homes.

April brought the end to a commissioned bench project bound for Jackson Hole Wyoming allowing us to renew a relationship with Fredericksburg Shipping. If you live in the Texas Hill Country and are ever in need of top notch packing and shipping check them out. Thad and his staff are friendly, efficient and thorough. They ship everything from antiques and art to zebra taxidermy mounts and everything in between. He has also dealt with several of the large galleries in Jackson Hole. Speaking of Jackson Hole we are planning to head out to the Western Design Conference again this year. Just not totally sure of what Lou will be creating to show. Guess I need to get that whip out and crack it.

My final B is a reminder that mesquite wood is home and harbor to a few different wood boring bugs. We keep hearing horror stories of people that have brought home mesquite products and discovered bits of sawdust on and around the pieces and so they douse it in insecticide often ruining the look of the frame, furniture or sculpture. Not a good solution if it is a cooking utensil or cutting board. We have even heard of a couple in Austin that had to fumigate the whole house because the new mesquite flooring they had installed had bugs. What a nightmare! So what should you do? Does this mean you should avoid mesquite wood products? Not at all.

First know who it is that you are buying from. There are many reputable folks that use mesquite. Check to see if they are members of the Texas Mesquite Association. This is a great group of artists and craftsmen that share info, ideas and the love for mesquite. Their spring show the Spring Texas Mesquite Art Festival was held April 17-19th in San Angelo, Texas. If you missed it you can catch the Fall Texas Mesquite Art Festival in Fredericksburg, Texas October 9-11th.

Second know that some of these bugs (powder post beetles) prefer the yellow sapwood layer of the wood. Be sure that your piece contains very little or preferably none of the yellow wood. We know of a woodworker that won't allow any of the yellow wood to come onto his property let alone his workshop. While we are not that extreme we are very careful and take serious precautions when drying and choosing wood for a particular piece.

Nobody likes to deal with bugs but if you should find that your new mesquite object has an insect that is making holes and sawdust you have a few options to treat it. Environmentally safe options include drastically lowering the humidity on the piece, and if small enough microwaving, heating to 140 degrees Fahrenheit in the oven or freezing for several hours. You can also try injecting alcohol into the holes to see if that works, before breaking out the chemicals and insecticide. We really hope you won't ever need to use this information but if you do need it we hope it is helpful.

Marching along to the beat of Mesquite

Well March has just marched right along and has been a month full of progress. The Mesquite Bedroom Furniture finally finished up and delivered safe and sound to it's new home. Where we hope it will provide it's owners many years (possibly generations) of sweet dreams and restful sleep.

Lou's unique designs sometimes require creative solutions. The typical brass bed bolt covers really were not an option for the mesquite bed. The idea of metal Texas stars was discussed but really did not fit the design style. So mesquite and purple heart buttons were finally designed and created with earth magnets (the REALLY strong ones) embedded in the back. The difficult choice of mesquite or purpleheart was left up to the client by providing 8 of each kind. He liked the purpleheart that matched the other smaller accents on the pieces and she preferred the mesquite for its subtle look. We are still not real sure who won that one.

This month Llano, Texas finally got it's first Chinese Food Restaurant. Whoa!!! Talk about progress!!! It has been the hot spot in town for the past few weeks and by the look and taste of things should be a success. Chinese food in Llano who would have dared to dream it?!

MeMaw now has her new nose and once the swelling goes down should be even better than ever. Just a friendly reminder: have a dermatologist give you the once over regularly. Ya just never know what might be lurking there right in front of your face.

Lou is now on Facebook. That is REAL progress since he can barely send email. We hope the account will help out in the networking department. Maybe we will actually stumble across our six degrees to Kevin Bacon cause I really think he would appreciate Lou's mesquite furniture designs.

On the homefront (or make that shopfront.) We finally made friends with the longhorns in the back field behind the shop. They are super friendly. We will have to watch to be sure they don't tear down the fence for some attention. They usually come out about 6:00ish that's pm if ya wanna stop by the shop for a visit. Lou has also made friends with the goats next door but they are early am visitors if you want to catch them. We named their leader Billy and he is a bossy one. Bring carrots or apples either way and make sure you schedule plenty of time to visit if PaPaw/Steve is in the shop he'll teach your ears off!!

As Lou learns the in's and out's of working with mesquite we notice that it's craggly character provides unique challenges along with smooth and subtle surprises and we just follow, marching along to the crazy beat of mesquite.

Obviously not great at Blogging

So obviously we are not great at this blogging thing. Our intentions are there but.... well you know all about intentions and the path they pave.

Looking back it has been a busy, growing year for us. We just delivered another one of our OVERSIZED coffee tables. The "Sister" Coffee table won "Best Texas Style Furniture" at the 9th Annual Texas Furniture Makers Show in Kerrville, Texas and was apparently centimeters away from taking Best of Show. (Well deserved congratulations go out to Phillip Sell for his amazing Bamboo Bench that took Best in Show!)

We attended the Western Design Conference again, this time in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We were blown away when we opened the local newspaper every morning and saw our "Cody" Table in the full page ad for the Conference. It was also on the tickets for the Show!!! You just can't buy that kind of publicity. The BEST part of that show was meeting the incredible artists and being inspired by all of the amazing talent in that arena. Check out our website for links to some of our artist friends we met there. http://www.louqart.com/Western_Design_Conference.html While we did not actually sell at the Western Design Conference it looks like we will have a few commissioned pieces in the coming year.

We try to look at it all as seeds that we are planting, some will come to harvest when we least expect it. One of the biggest seeds this year was getting our website up and running properly. I won't say it is exactly how we want it but it is a working work in progress and we will continue to work on it. (As always we are open to suggestions)

We are so very thankful that we were able to spend the past year creating "art that functions as furniture" and living in the beautiful Texas Hill Country We look forward to the New Year and all of the interesting challenges and inspiration that we hope we will be fortunate enough to meet and create. We will not make promises but do hope to be blogging about mesquite at least once a month and maybe, just maybe a little more than that.