The Art Of Furniture
Turning Art Into Furniture
As a teenager, Benny Goodman began to recognize he had a natural flair for creating works of art from wood.
In wood shop classes in Junior High and High School Benny learned the basics of wood working.
He grew up with his eight brothers and sisters in Woodruff, Arizona, a small rural community in Northeastern Arizona.
As a hobby, he would build tables in the front yard under the shade trees. Neighbors and friends would drive by admire his workmanship and buy his furniture.
“By the time I graduated high school I had an idea that maybe I could earn a living building furniture.” Benny said.
With only a few dollars to work with and an unwavering determination Benny began the tradition of hand crafting quality functional art.
Now it was time to get creative, Benny built a cedar chest, a unique and finely crafted tapestry covered chest with 52 individual hand-carved slats giving it a graceful, curved contour. At the suggestion of a friend, he entered it into the county fair where he won three Blue Ribbons and Honorable Mention. Encouraged by the success at the county fair, he entered it into the Arizona State Fair, where his masterpiece brought him recognition and he walked away with a Blue Ribbon, Honorable Mention and a trophy for greatest contribution to the show.
By this time his cedar chests were in high demand and were displayed in some of the finest art galleries in the state.
“The art in these galleries inspired me to combine art and functional furniture.” He said.
” I realized that art hanging on the wall was commonplace and I began brainstorming to come up with something different. I put a lot of thought into this and developed a coffee table that could hold a piece of art.”
Growing up near the Navajo Indian Reservation Benny learned early in life to appreciate Native American art, from this appreciation grew his inspiration and from his inspiration Benny’s concept of functional pieces of art were born.
The quite, modest entrepreneur had a plan to combine unique wood craftsmanship using hardwood of southwestern oak and alder with the ancient art of Navajo Sandpainting to create coffee tables, bedroom furniture, entertainment centers, china hutches and dinette sets.
Benny enlisted the artistic touch of Medicine Man Robert Lee and his wife Erma. The Lee family from Sheep Springs, New Mexico descends from a long line of sand painters. Keeping with their Navajo tradition of art, their sand paintings are natural sands gathered from around their home near the Painted Desert, some of which are tinted by natural methods of exposure to the sun and rain, then mixed with other sands and liquids. Each painting interprets a story. “The Coyote Stealing Fire, Storm Patterns, The Bear and the Snake” and many others.
For centuries sand paintings were only used for ceremonial purposes by medicine men and had to be destroyed by the end of the day. It took many years for this art to be allowed to be painted as permanent art. Each piece is signed by the artists.
The self-taught furniture maker opened his first shop Trails End Furniture in Jerome, Az. in 1990. He sold his crafted pieces wholesale to stores and art galleries around the state. The demand for his work grew and he had to hire nine employees to keep up with production. But his high standard of quality was not met. “After twelve years I learned I must do it myself in order to produce the quality furniture that my customers expected.”
Eighteen years later Trails End Furniture is now a family affair. You can find Benny, 39, and his wife Amy, 30, a third generation upholsterer working side by side in their factory in Cottonwood, Az. building furniture far beyond industry standards. He has added a new line of cedar tables crafted from the root of Arizona’s native cedar trees with inlays of turquoise from Arizona mines. ” I find a great deal of satisfaction when I deliver my work to people’s homes and see their appreciation for my work.” He added, ” it is rewarding and gratifying.”
Taken from http://www.americanprofile.com/