Spotlight: Marquetry Birds and Bees

For this post about artists in the Free Verse show at the Messler Gallery at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, I am highlighting two pieces with images of animals, specifically birds and bees.

Ryan Andrusky is a woodworker in Calgary who frequently incorporates images of animals and flowers into his marquetry projects. His piece Bee Cabinet is a reimagining of the Pennsylvania spice box, decorated with a bouquet reminiscent of 18th century French marquetry artists.

The flowers in the bouquet have attracted a swarm of delightfully intricate marquetry bees, who are building a hive on the inside of the cabinet (I didn’t get a photo of the inside, but you can see a picture here).

Photo thanks to Michael Boyle

Ryan doesn’t have a website, but you can find him on Bluesky and on other social media @ryanandrusky.

Greg Zall was a California-based furniture maker, marquetry artist, and teacher who passed away in 2023. He frequently featured flowers, fruits, and animals in his elegant designs. His piece Cockatoo shows a white bird with feathers rendered in wonderfully subtle detail, perched next to a sumptuous-looking pomegranate.

Photo thanks to Michael Boyle

I think that the background of Greg’s Cockatoo is a wood called wenge. Wenge is a difficult wood to use because it leaves your fingers covered in splinters, so I’m automatically impressed that Greg chose to use it for that reason. But even setting that aside, I really like the fractured appearance of the background, particularly in contrast with the bright white bird.

I wish that I had gotten the opportunity to meet Greg – it is clear that he was beloved in the woodworking community as an artist, a colleague, and a teacher.