White Pine

As I was thinking about the material that I wanted to use to build the table, I kept coming back to White Pine. I only wanted to use two planks for the top so I needed something that grew to a large diameter. I thought, “what would people in Telemark Norway use to build a table?”  Rauland is just below the tree line and any tree large enough for this wide a plank would need to be a conifer - any other tree wouldn’t get big enough. So White Pine it is.  It’s my favorite of all the conifers, it smells great, and it’s easy to work. 

I had been looking for wood this large even before I received the grant.  A large portion of Minnesota used to be covered with White Pine but now it is rare; wood this size just doesn’t grow on trees (couldn’t resist).  By chance, I asked a friend if he knew of some large planks for making a table of this size. I couldn’t believe my luck that the material that I was looking for was just a few miles away. He had 3 pieces of White Pine 4” thick, 24” wide, and 16’ long. More than enough for the table and the carved panels.

The table at Gardsjord.

When I looked at the Gardsjord table I could see centuries of wear, generations of stories. The exhibit  “At the Table” is about stories and communication, so having a wood that will wear well, receive marks and scratches when someone sets a ceramic cup or plate down or drops their fork,  tells its own story and gives it character over time.

Prototype of the table I will be making for the exhibit.