Mark's Marquetry

Hello and welcome to my Marquetry page!

What is marquetry you may be wondering? It's the art and craft of creating decorative designs or pictures by skillfully utilizing the grain, figure and colors of thin veneers, and sometimes other materials such as shell or ivory.

The marquetry artist, or marquetarian, selects their veneers based on the right combination of grain, color, and texture needed to create the artistic impression they want. Next, the individual veneer pieces that will make up the design or picture are cut out using either a knife or a fret saw. The pieces are then glued together and the whole design is mounted onto a rigid base and sanded flat. Lastly, a finish is applied to protect the wood and the marquetry piece is completed.

The infinite variety of veneers, grain, and figuration insure a unique one-of-a-kind product every time.

The exact origins of marquetry are uncertain, however, it is believed to have its inception in ancient Egypt. The craft was revived during the Renaissance period and reached its highest levels of perfection in the 18th Century, where it was mostly used as an embellishment on furniture for royalty.

The primary material used in marquetry is a variety of natural wood veneers, created from literally hundreds of species of trees from around the world.

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