Cutting Wood Plugs Adds a Special Element to Some of My Artwork

People often ask me about the circular wooden spots incorporated into many of my works.

It Started with Polka Dots

It all started with polka dots.  My daughter Amanda and I had our business up and running making wooden Anniversary Banks. We were always looking for creative new designs, and she suggested that she wanted to make a polka dot bank.  In any good brainstorming session, rules one and two are to keep an open mind and not shoot down any idea on the spot.  But this was far from anything I had envisioned.  Being a good business partner and supportive dad, we set out to design and make a polka-dot masterpiece.  All the polka dots were made from dowels and were one wood species in that first bank.  Amanda could see the potential in this style. 

Polka Dot Anniversary Bank

Cutting Wood Plugs with Drill Bits

For the next version, we broke out my set of plug cutters.  These are drill bits designed to cut out a small, circular piece of wood called a plug.  I had always used these in a traditional way.  I cut plugs to hide screws when I did not want them to show on furniture. With plug cutters, we could make polka dots from any wood.  When we used dowels, the end grain of the wood was what appeared. Endgrain does not show the true look or color of the wood.  Cutting wood plugs allowed us to show the nice face grain of the wood. 

The evolution of the Polkadot Bank was underway!  This new style was selling in surprising numbers.  I was won over.  Polkadot banks were pretty sweet!

Soon, we were gluing up different types of wood and creating some classy plugs.  The possibilities now were endless.

Watch how I cut wood plugs.

I often incorporate wood plugs into my pieces.

Here is a cherry vase adorned with "fireflies."

All the colors you see in these “firefly” plugs are the natural color of the woods they’re made from.  

An anniversary bank with concentric circles

Grape Serving Platter

Deeply Rooted Tree Sculpture

The great slab of maple that makes up the tree came from a century-old sugar maple that had died and had to be taken down.  It has a lot going on, and I envisioned an array of crazy plugs working well with it.

Ultimately, some good collaboration and a willingness to pursue a crazy idea have worked out nicely.  I want to thank Amanda for opening me up to the potential in what seemed like an ‘out there’ suggestion.  Polka dots do have a place in wood art.

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Beautiful art for life well lived,

Moe