Laser Marquetry. . . . . Art?

Laser marquetry has been around about ten years, mostly confined to commercial businesses, but is beginning to find its way into the hands of the hobbyist. There are two reasons why they are investing in such an expensive machine. (1) They are tired of creating marquetry the traditional way or (2) want to make a lot of it quick and on the cheap. Most involved in marquetry detest it while a few that have bought these machines think it is the best thing since canned soup. It is human nature to resist admitting you made a mistake in buying a machine that cost thousands of dollars just to make objects of mediocrity.

Lets look at the bigger picture here though. The laser cuts veneer at a fixed distance aided by a computer using CAD or vector graphics. Each piece is cut separately including the background using an intense beam creating a double-sided bevel. Much instruction and practice is needed to get the pieces to fit snugly and even then, what looks acceptable from the front will have a gap on the back side. Sanding or scraping on the front will reveal the kerf. Burnt edges are not uncommon and settings have to constantly be adjusted for wood density. And materials such as brass and pearl pose additional problems. This is a production machine that cannot match single, one of a kind marquetry done by traditional methods. Only top-of-the-line lasers can cut pieces smaller than 1/8”. Detail is just not possible.

I have seen laser marquetry in action and I have not been impressed. I like to compare it to a CNC drilling or milling machine which I have experience with. It will make items economical and fast with no distinction for exceptional quality. There are numerous testimonials on the web that lend validity to this argument. One well respected furniture company I know whose trademark is marquetry calls it “cheap” and “mass produced”. Laser marquetry is easily detected by those involved in the craft with the lay person being easily duped. I wonder how much of this laser work is being passed off as hand-made?

The answer to our original question is that laser marquetry is not art! Machines cannot create art because there is no individual and direct involvement of the hands in transferring the creative idea to an object. If the laser was used so that interaction was maintained in a freehand style then that would be a start. This, of course, is impossible due to the limitations of the machine. Someday this may be possible, but at that point we will have come full circle and will find ourselves asking-what’s the point?

Straw Marquetry

The origins of straw marquetry have their roots in Asia where straw has many uses in everyday life. Rice straw was used to make mats and rope so it is not hard to imagine that left-over straw used in the manufacture of household items was seen as useful in decorating small boxes. For instance, in Japan it is called ’Mugiwarazaiku’ and has been around for nearly 300 years. In the West it has been practiced since the 17th century when it was considered an acceptable hobby for cloistered nuns. During the Napoleonic wars, French prisoners held in British jails created snuff boxes, tea caddies and cabinets decorated with straw marquetry. All that was needed was straw bedding, a knife and dyes made by boiling colored rags. A prerequisite for this craft seems to have been a lot of time to spare. Few examples survive today and those that have are well preserved or were little used. These include sewing boxes, tea caddies, snuff boxes, small cabinets and writing boxes.

Straw work is not very complicated and in some respects similar to the related craft of decoupage with straw being replaced by paper. Designs of a geometric pattern are favored along with intricate pictorial scenes. The pattern is drawn on the surface that is to be covered or onto a piece of paper which will serve as a backing. In either case, the preparation of the straw is the same. Uniform, cylindrical lengths of straw are selected according to the texture that is needed. These vary from species to species with barley, wheat, oat, rye and rice the most common. Additional colors can be had with food or aniline dyes. With a knife the straw is slit open along its length to form pieces about 5/16” wide and 12” long. With a damp sponge they are moistened and burnished with a blunt edged tool until they are flat. A hot iron set on low can also be used. The outside of the straw is the face as this provides the greatest degree of translucent texture. The action of the design is carried out by cutting needed lengths of straw and glueing these to the design. No visible gap should appear where 2 pieces come together. What is even more important is the glue used in securing the design. Standard white glue is acceptable, but an adhesive with a low water content is ideal. PVA bookbinders glue would be a good choice. In the case of geometric designs it is better to glue identical sections onto kraft paper and then trim to the desired shape.

Parquetry is another suitable means of decorating with straw marquetry. If the marquetry is to be applied to solid wood it is recommended to glue a backing of kraft paper to stabilized it. Where plywood or some similar type of wood is used it is not as necessary to have a backing. This precaution is needed because the delicate nature of the material will cause it to bubble up as the substrate contracts and swells to changes in humidity. When two surfaces meet at right angles the edges are burnished after the glue has dried. In most cases the marquetry is applied after the case piece or box has been assembled and a heavy weight is placed on it.

In finishing straw marquetry it is not an essential step since alot of these pieces are left unfinished. If a protective coating is needed it is usually applied by spraying a light coat of shellac or lacquer. Marquetry created in this way is of course not very durable, but the texture of honey-colored straw is dazzling when applied to geometric shapes like trompe-l’oeil designs.

The craft itself is not widely practiced in the United States and is called ‘straw work’ or ‘straw painting’.

Here is a link to a video (in French) about straw marquetry that will give some idea of how it is done.