Notes on veneer
I have been thinking about the qualities of veneer. As a metaphor it signifies a surface, a cover up, hidden depth under a fine layer. I like these associations and find it is interesting to think about them relation to how the material is used. The very flatness of veneer could be exploited more in Marquetry rather than being applied to another surface.
Traditionally being an alternative to inlay into a solid surface, Marquetry as a cover up acts as a playful 'trick' being easier to execute than inlaying itself. The use of Trompe-l'oeil seems to have grown from this- effectively being used in Marquetry a lot. The play between 2 and 3 dimensions seems a natural way to work with the technique because there is such a fine line between the two in this case.
I have been drawn to working in a playful way with some of my initial experiments.
I find I am looking toward wood in general in my process, connecting the solid form to veneer. Refering to wood in the broadest sense seems important to begin to understand the material and how something so solid and imposing as a tree is reduced to such fragile sheets; and similarly how this then returns to be a 3D 'covering' after being worked.
