mesquite musings

'Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence'

2012-01-31T23:31:00.000-06:00

"Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence." -Anonymous

Each of Lou Quallenberg's mesquite furniture pieces are signed, but even if they were not signed they are easily identified in several unique ways.

Lou Quallenberg's Signature Design Elements

Mesquite Wood Construction
Floating Live Edge Slab Tops
Laminated Curved Bases
Clean Curved Design Style
Curves Upon Curves
Original Curved Bow Tie
Cracks, Holes and Character
Artist's Signature

Artists began signing their work near the end of the Middle ages, first in France then spreading throughout Europe. The practice of signing the work developed as art making left the hands of the Monks working collaboratively in Monastery workshops and individuals began to strive for greater artistic skill and recognition.

From 1890-1938 Pilkington's Royal Lancastrian Pottery produced some amazing pottery, tiles and glazes. I find the Makers Marks artistic pieces in themselves.

FROM SOCIETY WEBSITE: The pottery artists at Pilkington's each had their own distinctive mark. The male artists also used a specific mark to denote the year a vase was decorated. Whilst the tile artists occasionally put a mark or signature to their work this was not common. Some artists works are much more scarce than others which influences the value of an item. The marks of certain artists for example Evans or Ormerod are very rarely seen.

The Society is able to identify most marks and the year of production for members. A stylized presentation of the marks is shown here.

I recently read about the following hidden signatures in the Steve Jobs biography. It made me wonder if I might find something like this on the inside of one of our many old and outdated Mac's that we keep as a mini museum of all things Mac. Most still work and are kept around for our

entertainment purposes only. I really liked the way Mr. Jobs wanted these computers to be considered art because it is how I think about them.

Signatures Inside an Early Mac

COPIED FROM www.folklore.org: "The Mac team had a complicated set of motivations, but the most unique ingredient was a strong dose of artistic values. First and foremost, Steve Jobs thought of himself as an artist, and he encouraged the design team to think of ourselves that way, too. The goal was never to beat the competition, or to make a lot of money; it was to do the greatest thing possible, or even a little greater. Steve often reinforced the artistic theme; for example, he took the entire team on a field trip in the spring of 1982 to the Louis Comfort Tiffany museum, because Tiffany was an artist who learned how to mass produce his work.
Since the Macintosh team were artists, it was only appropriate that we sign our work. Steve came up with the awesome idea of having each team member's signature engraved on the hard tool that molded the plastic case, so our signatures would appear inside the case of every Mac that rolled off the production line. Most customers would never see them, since you needed a special tool to look inside, but we would take pride in knowing that our names were in there, even if no one else knew."

I thought the example below of signing ones work was a great way to stay on top of quality control. Imagine if we all had to sign our name to our work (whatever it might be) before we released it out to the world. Taking ownership of whatever work we produced because we knew we had to sign it. I think those Big Mac's at McDonalds would actually look like the photos on the Menu. I can see why these probably are the best axes in the world. I want one just because I know the story and that the artist signed it.

COPIED FROM THEIR MARKETING MATERIALS:"Gränsfors axes are forged by very professional smiths. The proof of this professionalism is that they are able to forge axes with such precision that no supplementary work, to hide mistakes in the forging, is needed.

Gränsfors axes are forged and signed by the smiths.

At Gränsfors Bruks, the forging craft is allowed to take its time. The smiths do not work by the piece. They take care and do the right forging from the beginning. There is no need to stone or grind or smooth or paint the axes in order to hide or eliminate imperfections in the forging. A smith at Gränsfors Bruks has nothing to hide and he is proud of his professional standards. When he is satisfied with his work and has accepted his axe, he marks the head with his initials beside the company's crown label:
LP: Lennart Pettersson, MM: Mattias Mattsson, BA: Bert-Ove Andersson
US: Ulrika Stridsberg, KS: Kjell-Äke Sjölund, RA: Rune Andersson
UN: Ulrik Nilsson, DG: Daniel Gräntz, AS: Anders Stromstedt
DP: Domingo Gas Pallares, TT: Tobias Thelin

Made in Sweden."

Modern Silver Hallmarks

COPIED FROM SILVER HALLMARKS WEBSITE www.silverhallmarks.org.uk www.silverhallmarks.org.uk:
Silver hallmarks are an invaluable aid to collectors and dealers for identifying the date & maker of antique silver, and indeed any piece of silver made in England.

Hallmarks on silver were first introduced in the UK in 1300 as a method of proving that the silver object contained the correct amount of silver, since pure silver is a very soft metal and consequently any object made from silver requires some base metal to be added to it to strengthen it.
In these early days it was not uncommon for silver objects to be melted down and converted into coinage, and so it was imperative that the silver used was of a sufficient grade, especially with continental silver containing a much lower percentage of silver.
Silver Hallmarks were the answer to this problem.Any piece of silver had to be officially approved to be of a high enough silver content, and would be given it’s hallmark only when this was the case.
As a consequence the hallmark became a standard of quality and assurance, and the presence of a hallmark on a silver object was an official seal of approval.
English silver, or Sterling silver is often referred to as solid silver, but it does in fact contain 7.5% copper, so it is 92.5% pure, which is why modern silver often has a .925 mark stamped into it. Continental silver is often only 80% pure.
English Silver Hallmarks evolved over time, with the eventual inclusion of the standard or sterling mark, the assay office, the year of manufacture, the maker, and sometimes an additional mark for special reasons.
All of these silver hallmarks can help in identifying exactly when and by who any piece was made, which is not only helpful to collectors of antique silver, but also offers a fascinating dimension to any old silver object that you may possess.

So with all these beautiful examples of artists signing their work, I hope it inspires you to take ownership of your work - whatever it may be and remember that it is a reflection of yourself. With that said we have restarted the video creation process to showcase Lou Quallenberg's Mesquite Furniture making techniques and had hoped to post one with this blog post but it was just not ready for our signature.....

(This blog post was greatly inspired by a blog post, "would you sign your work" that Hubertus Von Lobenstein wrote in his blog that was inspired by a blog post that Tom Fishbourne wrote in his blog http://tomfishburne.com/ prior to his post dated January 2011.)

The End Is The Beginning

2011-12-31T08:53:00.000-06:00

Is it the end of the old year or the beginning of a new one that we celebrate? I really think it is a little of both as we look back at what we have survived and accomplished (or not as the case may be) and then prepare for all of the incredible possibilities a new year brings......

Is it the end of the old year or the beginning of a new one that we celebrate?

British Airways Face to Face Award

A quick look back on 2011 reminds me that at this time last year I was busy planning my trip to New York, London and Egypt. All thanks to the British Airways Face of Opportunity Award. The New York leg was detoured because of the crazy weather and Egypt obviously did not happen due to the turmoil in the country but it was replaced by sunny and beautiful Barcelona and for that I am thankful. Barcelona was never really on my top 10 list but now I can't wait to take Lou there, if I can ever get him dusted off and out of the shop. I guess it is hard to take a vacation when you do what you love and feel like you don't have enough time to accomplish what you want to with it in this lifetime!

Mesquite Entry Table 2011 by Lou Quallenberg

Lou worked away this year through the extreme cold and then the exhausting heat and drought. Projects included a Mesquite Dining Table, a Mesquite Entry Table, and then eight beautiful Benches / Pews for the Chapel. We were blessed this year with plenty of work, new clients and even more to come in the New Year as the work schedule fills and the waiting list grows ever longer.

Is it the end of the old year

or the beginning of a new one

that we celebrate?

While one door closed, Riverbend Fine Art in Marble Falls came to an end, a few opened as we found representation in Fredericksburg with Galeria 19. Marta Stafford Fine Art will open her doors in Marble Falls and while she has no room to place our pieces we wish her huge success and value her advice and opinion on all things art. Thanks goes to both Galleries for selling pieces, old and new, of Lou's work this past year. Thank you also to Ann Bradley at Artisans at Rocky Hil l for referring a client our way. We do miss the regular visits with the owners, Art and Artisans from that Gallery but as we know things change and change has been good to us this year.

Crated and ready to head across the pond.

We sent two pieces to the United Kingdom last year and are being patient as the seeds planted there begin to take root and will hopefully bear fruit. We thank Joe Prest and Amie Prest of The Mesquite Company as they do the hard work of introducing the UK and Europe to the beauty and character of all things Mesquite and especially Lou Quallenberg's Mesquite Furniture.

@LAST Llano ART Studio Tour 2011 MAP

This year we contributed to the Llano Art scene by helping start up @LAST: Llano's Art Studio Tour the LAST Saturday in March. It was such a great success that we will be holding @LAST Annually! We joined the Llano Fine Art Guild and expanded the Llano Trail of the Deer Art Project with another deer our own Buck-B-Q! While he is not an actual working Barbecue pit, he does sport his own food, flames , thermostat and BBQ tools. He also has the ability to spurt smoke out his nose. Our homage to Llano's famous Bar-B-Q and it's reputation as Deer Capital of Texas.

Buck-B-Q our 2011 contribution to Llano's Trail of the Deer

We continue to deal with the issues associated with aging parents and while difficult at times we would not trade it for anything. This year's knee replacement for Me Maw brought us back together with some of the same nursing and care staff at St. Davids Hospital that we got to know with last years broken ankle surgery. It made me wonder about paths and journeys crisscrossing and entwining and really opened my eyes to teachers and lessons.

Thank you for reading this blog because I know that if you are actually reading this blog you are one of our supporters, clients, friends or family and we are so thankful to have you in our lives. So it looks like we will continue on for another new year discovering the many mysteries that mesquite furniture making in the Texas Hill Country holds in store for us.......

"Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists STEAL"

2011-11-30T22:10:00.000-06:00

"Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal" The quote is often credited to Pablo Picasso but it has been said by many writers, songwriters, poets, visual artists and the like and nobody is really sure who actually said it first. One reason we like to attend Shows (Furniture and Art/Design) is the connection and energy that is created with the other artists. The sharing, borrowing and stealing are given free range as the ideas and creativity flow freely in these gatherings of amazing talent under one roof. What is taken away from these events is inspiration and like the quote above one never really knows if it is borrowed or stolen. It just is.

We are pleased to announce that Lou Quallenberg is now being represented in the Texas Hill Country in Fredericksburg, Texas by:

Galeria 19 Fine Art

222 W Main St

Fredericksburg, TX 78624-3710

(830) 990-1403

Galeria 19 is owned by Mary Frances Camp and run with the help of the very knowledgeable Jesse Hansell. We loved the bright, colorful artist's work represented there and the welcoming feel of this great gallery space. I'm sure we have already begun to borrow and steal inspiration from this incredible resource of international artists. I am in love with Juan Ezcurdia's longhorns (or bulls) and the amazing sculptures by Syd Ginsberg. Be sure to stop by, say hi and see the work if you are in the area. (See video below)

We recently attended the 12th Annual Texas Furniture Makers Show Award Ceremony and Reception this year without the usual nervous feeling of how the latest piece will be received. Since Lou's schedule has been so full and the most recent deadline had arrived so close to the delivery date of the Texas Furniture Makers Show, Lou did not have time to create a "showpiece" this year. We decided to go ahead and enter a piece in the show that had been created by Lou in 2006. It was a small, simple, s-curve coffee table with turquoise and gold inlay. A clean, classic representation of Lou's work. We entered to support the show and hey maybe sell the piece. So needless to say we both had to do a double take when they called "Lou Quallenberg" as the recipient of the "Furniture Committee" Award.

Jeremy Grubb & his Aruh Bench

Congratulations go to Rex White for winning the "Best Texas Style" Furniture Award at the Texas Furniture Makers Show. Lou has won the "Best Texas Style" Furniture Award for the past three years in a row so now the pressure is off. Thank you and way to go Rex!! You can see Rex White's work at RS Hanna Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas(also seen in the video above.)

Lou often feels like a newcomer at these shows probably because he came late to the furniture making scene with his mesquite furniture. He usually feels a connection with the younger crowd at this show and we (as always) try to help promote ANYONE we find with talent.

Jeremy Grubb is one such talent that we have identified and connected with for several years now. He greets Lou each year like Lou is a rock star - always excited to see what Lou has pulled out of his hat each year. (Sure hope he wasn't too disappointed with this years entry from 2006.) We have been taken by his artistic talent and over the top style and attitude. Because of that connection and inspiration we created this list of up and coming talent in the Texas Furniture Design/Maker Scene found at the Texas Furniture Makers Show this year.

Our "Ones to Watch" List

(from the 12th Annual Texas Furniture Makers Show)

Chris Kemler's Jatoba Hall Chair

Best Contemporary Style

Chris Kemler
Jatoba Hall Chair

Chris Kemler working on his 2010 entry

Chris Kemler on facebook

Jeremy Grubb
Side Table(not pictured)
Judges’ Special Award

(donated by Alamo Hardwoods, Inc.)

Jeremy Grubb's Aruh Bench For Sale at Texas Furniture Makers Show

Jeremy Grubb on facebook

website:http://jjhgwoodworks.com/

Houston, Texas

281-414-8382

James Breaux
Carlo Chair

Judges’ Special Award

(donated by Fine Woodworking Magazine)

Honorable Mention: James Breaux - Suspension Table

Brandon Berdoll with Large Slab

Brandon Berdoll

Mesquite Dining Table
Brandon's table did not win an award but it DID sell and that is as important as awards!!

Berdoll Sawmill & Furniture Co.
Cedar Creek, Texas
512-497-5910

Brandon Berdoll on facebook

We can't wrap this blog post about the Texas Furniture Makers Show without mentioning Gerry Morrell who we enjoy connecting with every year. Gerry's Mesquite rocker was a really nice piece and we were honored that he was trying to create a piece that would take the "Best Texas Style" category off Lou's table - so to speak.

Delivery Day! Pew I mean Phew!

2011-10-31T23:54:00.002-05:00

Well we delivered the mesquite benches/pews to the chapel in time for the upcoming wedding. So now the "Dancing Trees" have an audience of eight that they can captivate all day long, as the light dances through the holes, ridges and ripples both natural and sculpted on the live edge mesquite slabs. Lou took the opportunity to give the "Dancing Trees" a good waxing and rub out - I think he just likes an excuse to spend time touching them.

Wax on! Wax off! Dancing Trees by Lou Quallenberg

Thanks too the poor google map directions and a lack of communication, some on my part, but most on the lack of cell service in the area, our friends Laurie and Jim Branvik who live in Bandera and offered to lend a helping hand unloading and setting up the benches/pews, arrived as we finished assembling them in the Chapel. They had not seen the "Dancing Trees" in their finished form so it was an opportunity to show them and reconnect, although very briefly. Jim is the Original Horseshoe Engraver and one of our favorite artist's to hang out with - of course we prefer it when Blondie is with him!

The Chapel Benches/ Pews or shall we say seating?

Speaking of Jims' my cousin Jim gave us this little gem of a joke that I can't resist sharing:

Q: What happens if you fart in Church?

A: You have to sit in your own Pew! (Wish they were all as beautiful as Lou's!)

The next part of the Chapel commission on the schedule is the Podium / Lectern. This will be another amazing sculpted beauty. The mesquite slab is big and bulky and I often catch myself thinking of it as "Big Momma." I can't wait to see what Lou Quallenberg does with this piece of mesquite. Check out the video of him having Shawn cut and shape it with the chainsaw:

We will be showing an older piece (s-curve mesquite coffee table), that does not really reflect his current work style, at the Texas Furniture Makers Show since the crazy busy schedule this year prevented Lou from creating a new outstanding potential award winning show piece - maybe next year!? He will have a few mirrors and framed photography hanging in the Derby Gallery. Who knows ? maybe the s-curve will find a new home while on display.

Marta's New Logo

As for new homes we are sad to say that Riverbend Fine Art our Gallery in Marble Falls is closing in November. We really did enjoy the gallery space, art and artists, and of course the amazing Marta Stafford. But as one door closes another opens and in January 2012 Marta Stafford Fine Art will open it's doors and we cannot wait to see what she does in this great new venue. We hope to have her continued representation in the Highland Lakes Area and wish her much success!

Much of my November will be spent along side MeMaw (my mother) as she undergoes knee replacement surgery on the leg that she broke in 1967when she fell out of a deer blind! They will be removing the old hardware and replacing it with a new knee and more modern techniques. Please keep her in your prayers.

Turning the page on September

2011-09-30T08:04:00.004-05:00

We uploaded the catalog of mesquite furniture pieces into this great new viewer that works like a virtual magazine. The pages turn on their own or flip like a real magazine. It even works on smart phones although it is very small and hard to read. Please check it out and share it with anyone you think that might be interested. I am so amazed at how fast technology is moving and the immense effort it takes to keep up with it all.

An Amish Quilt

When we lived in New Jersey we usually took a trip in the fall to the Amish country in Pennsylvania. It is times like these that I wonder if they might have it right by banning technology from their lives. Lou is working with his hands and reaps the rewards of seeing a piece go from raw wood to sculpted beauty. I on the other hand try to crack the ever changing code of social media. From Facebook to Twitter, Google Analytics, Bing and beyond. I feel like I'm on a merry go round that is moving way to fast and I can't get off. Ahhh to be Amish and under a nice handmade quilt in a feather bed by sunset. Okay I know that is romanticising it a bit but Ohhhh how I dream of THAT bed and quilt.....

My health always an issue I had more than normal health scare when an asthma attack surprised me this month. I am better now but it took me down and out for a few weeks. It all started with the smoke from the fires here in Central Texas. One of our artist friends Susie Fowler the Shade Tree Potter lost her home but incredibly her studio was saved. See video, photos and article here. Please donate and help out if you can. The Bastrop fires seem to be getting all of the attention and resources while our neighbors in Spicewood who also suffered losing their homes and businesses are offered limited relief. The Pedernales/Spicewood Fire burned 6,500 acres and damaged nearly 70 homes.

Susie Fowler Shade Tree Potter in her Home/ Gallery this vase is up for Auction

This piece, Pedernales Cliff Tower, is featured in the Texas Country Reporter episode about Susie Fowler The Shade Tree Potter. Watch it HERE. All the flora and fauna collected for impressions in this piece were gathered on her land and down the bluff to the river bed. The minimum bid will be $400, starting the bidding with the existing bid for the previous piece.

The piece is currently on view at Authenticity Gallery in the Bee Cave Galleria mall. Please drop in and make a bid on the silent auction form. The final auction award will be made during the Live Auction at the benefit at the fire station.
ALL of the donated funds go directly to the Pedernales Fire Dept. Auxilary

The Pedernales Fire Department Auxillary Fundraiser is this

Saturday, OCTOBER 1 from 7 - 11 PM.

We were picking up Lou's God son, Travis from New Jersey, from the airport that evening and all roads (highways) home were blocked by fire. We were on 71 at the Pedernales River (well what was the river) when the Spicewood fire crossed the highway. Dripping Springs was being evacuated as we considered trying Hamilton Pool Road because 620 had already been closed due to the Steiner Ranch Fire. This meant going all the way back into Austin and taking 183 to 29 but then we heard on the radio that 29 at Leander and Liberty Hill also had a fire closing the highway. We went ahead and decided to try getting through Liberty Hill before giving up and spending the night in Austin. As we arrived they were re-opening the highway, so while we ended up taking the long, long, long way home. we did make it home that night. A bit late but safe and sound and for that we are so very thankful.

Travis sanding sanding sanding

Barney with a bench mock up during the design process

Travis was a huge help in the shop learning some woodworking skills and Lou Quallenberg's meticulous methods. His strength, youth and help was important because we are nearing the deadline for the Dancing Trees chapel, benches. This time crunch and deadline mean we still do not have a showpiece for the Texas Furniture Makers Show and if we make it to the Texas Mesquite Association Show in Fredericksburg it will probably just be me by myself getting in some Christmas shopping. I know several artist friends that will be very disappointed not getting to see Lou Quallenberg at least for a quick visit and laugh.

Lou applying the finish entering the home stretch - only 7 more.

Mesquite seat gets coat #3 (see the number to the left?)

I will be happy to have him back in my life once the deadline is met, but I know that at some point in the near future another deadline real or imagined will arise and keep him in the shop non stop again.

It is so good to know he really enjoys the work he is doing. I only wish we could put the home, shop, and studio all together in one location so that I could at least peek in on him while he is whistling and working away with his latest mesquite beauty.

After watching Texas burn and 90+ days over 100 degrees suffering through the worse drought in many years and possibly ever recorded in Texas, it finally RAINED at our house. We have been trying to save our trees and while this is a Band-aid it brought some relief. More importantly it brought hope. We are happy to turn the page on September and look forward to cooler fall weather.

The 100 Club and Making Mesquite Furniture

2011-08-31T13:53:00.005-05:00

New Ad Style. What do you think?

I always thought joining the 100 Club of anything was an honor or privilege. I'm still trying to see the honor, the privilege or anything positive about living through 75+ days of temperatures OVER 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I mean REALLY this is ridiculous! Lou Quallenberg continues to make mesquite furniture through this scorching heat, in a shop without an airconditioner, day after day. It is unrelenting with no relief in sight and a large project deadline creeping ever steadily closer and closer.

75+ days over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and no relief in sight!!

We won't go through another Texas summer without a swimming pool. I'll even pay to have water shipped in to fill it if I have to. We are currently bailing our bathwater to save a few of our trees. It is amazing how much water runs down the drain wasted so don't let me get started about flushing toilets....

This may end up being the first year that we do not have a mesquite furniture piece entered in the Texas Furniture Makers Show since we started showing there in 2005. Lou won Best Art Furniture in 2005 and Best Texas Style Furniture for the past three years consecutively 2008,2009,& 2010. We are busy and that is a very good thing. We feel blessed. Besides it is just too hot to do ANYTHING. So the show pieces get put on the way back burner while the commissioned pieces get built and delivered at the slow moving, sweaty, hot and tired pace.

We will certainly attend the 12th Annual Texas Furniture Makers Show and are making plans to catch Thea Marx's seminar "How to Market Your Work without a Big Budget" & "Western Design: The Old, the New and Why It's Western." We really like Thea Marx and ALL that she has done to promote Contemporary Western Design. She is the reason we entered the British Airways Face of Opportunity Contest and while we did not get much of a chance to visit in London at the Face to Face Conference it was great knowing she was there working her western style magic on the United Kingdom, at Harrods and I know she charmed them in Paris as well.

Lou Quallenberg Clamping the Mesquite Bench Back Rest

I thought I would share a few photos of the current mesquite furniture project taking up most of the space in the shop these days. Lou is working on the mesquite benches for the private chapel in Bandera. They will sit curved, facing the alter and the Dancing Trees.

Solid Mesquite Slabs for the Bench Seats

They each have a slight curve on the seat and back rest. The back rest on each bench is composed of four slices of mesquite wood that are 9/32" thick. They are cut and then epoxied together and shaped into the curve. The same process is used on the base apron to match the curve of the seat. It is also used on four other smaller pieces that serve as braces for both accent and strength.

They are really taking shape and coming along. Lou's God Son Travis will be visiting from New Jersey for a good portion of September and we hope he will be able to lend a helping hand on this job. Just hope working with mesquite in the Texas heat does not do him in.

Barney with Mesquite Bench (partially assembled & clamped together)

Finding Passion and it's HOT !?

2011-07-28T09:32:00.000-05:00

I'm only gonna mention this once. It's HOT! Okay I'm back to visioning the thermometer at 70 and the Llano River rushing full of cool, clear water.....

A July Wedding Lou & Cheryl Quallenberg

This week we celebrate 16 years of marriage. Our Sweet 16! It is a marriage full of passion and passions. We have been through our share of good times and bad times, surviving all of it with lot’s of laughter and of course love. I wanted to focus this month on passion because that is what started us down this journey of mesquite furniture making. It is a passion for this unique, unusual, cranky, craggley, old wood that got us to this successful point on our path of mesquite furniture making.

Passion is the fuel that takes an idea and pushes it into creation or reality.

The Arnosky Family back then.

Lou and I got married on a flower farm in Blanco / Wimberly known as Texas Specialty Cut Flowers. I was still a career girl with a passion for flowers. With my Horticulture degree from Texas A&M, I had conceived, created, implemented and managed the floral department at Central Market - a new concept store for HEB Grocery Company at the time.

The Arnosky Family and their company Texas Specialty Cut Flowers were and still are ALL about a passion for growing flowers. It shows in the beautiful product they produce. It is hard work growing cut flowers in Texas but they do it with such grace and I am still to this day in awe! I still have my passion for flowers but my health has dictated a much less physical lifestyle for me.

We are spending our 16th Anniversary at the Inn above Onion Creek a place where we hope and expect to find a passion for food, hospitality and life.....

Passion can be seen, heard, tasted, smelt and felt.

SEEN

Ira Kennedy's "Spirit of the Buffalo"

Ira Kennedy's "Between Two Fires"

Passion can be seen in the unique works of Ira Kennedy. Ira’s work is a unusual mix of folk, native American, aborigine, and pointillism. His style while ever evolving has blossomed recently as he nears his 70th birthday.

His passion for art has been there with him all along. From his youth when he lived in New York City (1965-1970) participating in the art scene and a show with Andy Warhol, to his creation of Enchanted Rock Magazine, up to this day as he paints in his new style on a patio, boxes, canvas and even deer as part of Llano’s Trail of the Deer Art Project. We have enjoyed watching his passion flame again knowing full well that Kathy was the spark that set this man afire.

I recently discovered Pinterest and want to share it. I kind of think of it as a place where folks can collect their passions - just be careful it can be addicting. You create boards with subjects of your choosing and pin images of your choosing to them. A sort of virtual collecting (or hoarding as the case may be) of the things you like, "your passions." You can see a few of my passions on my boards here: http://pinterest.com/quallenberg/
Just remember I DID warn you.

HEARD

Danny Brooks

Passion can be heard in the voice of one of our local favorite singer, songwriter, musician Danny Brooks
take a listen here:

http://www.inthemusicroom.com/songs2/good%20loving%20is%20hard%20to%20find.wma

That is a mild one for him but "Good love is hard to find" and it sort of fits this blog post theme. He is a regular at Fuel Coffee House here in Llano and while most of the time I am a work widow (he can't help it it's his passion!), if Mr. Brooks is singing I can usually get a "date nite" full of wonderful live music, friends and foot stomping! Danny Brooks WILL get you up out of your seat.

You can also hear a passion for ALL things Mesquite anytime you talk to Joe and Amie Prest of The Mesquite Company in the United Kingdom. They are responsible for this interesting bit of press on Lou Quallenberg in the UK:

June 6th, 2011

Lou Quallenberg: Life on the Edge

By dukemedia_uk
The world of contemporary furniture design is replete with many great artists; those whose work is informed by abstract concepts, their designs honed by the elite design schools of Europe and America’s costal Universities. While the fruits of these designers are often spectacular, and the rewards of finance and recognition similarly so, few possess the passion to eschew this glamour to pursue the path of a genuinely traditional craftsman.

Lou Quallenberg, however, is one such man who distinguishes himself profoundly- in his life as well as his work- from this urban culture, and subverts egotism to allow nature to shape and inspire his designs. Quallenberg did not come to furniture design through the now more customary college route and was a relatively late convert to the craft, having begun his career in photography.
The New Jersey born designer was brought up in an artistic household, and his parent’s home doubled as a photographic studio. Quallenberg quickly became interested in the medium and, it was assumed that he would ultimately follow in his family’s footsteps. However, even as a teenager he displayed the need and ability to express himself in a more physical medium and, at just 15, began building and modifying chopper bikes years before the “American Chopper” television series made the practise so celebrated and lucrative.

As expected, Quallenberg began his professional artistic career in photography, shooting for premium advertisers but, as with many artists, it was love that most profoundly moved and shaped his actions rather than finance- a characteristic that would one day be expressed directly through his art. The young artist met Catherine Walker, whom he would later marry, and so enthralled by her passion for her home state of Texas, moved to Llano where the couple set up a gallery. But with a recently discovered love of and gift for woodwork, Quallenberg came under the tutelage of his father-in-law, Steven Walker, who guided his nascent abilities until he was able to find his own means for expression as a designer and a carpenter.

Keen to display his love for his adopted state of Texas, he became excited by the native Mesquite trees and their distinctive pattern and properties that made them ideal for radical furniture designs. Rather than dictating the shape of his designs in the manner of conventionally schooled designers, Quallenberg became excited by the possibilities of “Live Edge” design. Live Edge is neo-rustic style in which the designer allows the natural shape and pattern of wood to dictate the piece, creating truly individual pieces of work that elucidate an ongoing relationship between the artist and nature, between man and his environment, the results of which can be spectacular.

Echoing man’s earliest attempts to conquer his environment and bend it to his will, this primitivist approach to furniture design has become highly sought after as it is so distinct from the cold, abstract designs comprised of leather, plastic and metal that remain so popular amongst more fashionable, metropolitan designers. The concept of Live Edge as a paradigm was first contrived by Japanese-American George Nakashima in the 1940s. Nakashima was interned during the Second World War and his eyes were opened to traditional design and craft practices when taught how to use rural Japanese hand-tools by a fellow internee named Gentauro Hikogawa. Upon his release, Nakashima employed his newly learned skills shaping locally sourced wood and incorporating blemishes, knots and nooks into the designs as features of the each piece. In 1946- less than 12 months after the end of World War Two- the Japanese American won the Architects’ Gold Craftsmanship Medal, and his work went on to earn him a near legendary status that saw multiple awards and recognition in the United States and abroad, his former studio in Pennsylvania is now even on the US National register of Historical Places.

Given the historical import of the style, Quallenberg’s work has an impressive legacy to live up to which his output achieves quite spectacularly. Using the local Mesquite, the designer fashions a truly unique range of tables, beds, wardrobes and other custom items unlike any others on the market. The wood is unusually strong and dry- making it an ideal tool for the imaginative craftsman, and the beautiful colour and variance of tones provide artistic inspiration, including a convention of inserting turquoise stones into crevices to stunning visual effect. Likewise, the unusual and varied curves characteristic of the timber gives rise to highly unusual shapes that are both natural and striking in a manner that could easily grace the most contemporary and abstract displays.

There can be little doubt that Lou Quallenberg challenges many of the assumptions regarding innovative modern furniture design, but his passion is clear and the product sometimes exquisite. In both life and in art he is an iconoclast and a worthy reminder that exciting design is not confined to elite metropolitan centres, boutiques and display rooms, and that in striving for the future, artists should be wary in neglecting the richness of the past.

Lou’s website is located at http://www.louqart.com

His official UK suppliers may be found at http://www.themesquitecompany.com/

The writer got my name wrong but Lou said he had the new Princess Catherine on the brain and besides I am his "Princess". Awww! Things like that help make 16 years fly by. The story with photos can be found online here: http://my.telegraph.co.uk/dukemedia/dukemedia_uk/81/lou-quallenberg-life-on-the-edge/

TASTED

Eva's Holtzer House Cafe & Old World Catering

Passion can be tasted especially in the food of our dear friend, and "Mesquite Muse" Eva Broad. She had a restaurant here in town “Eva’s Holtzer House Café” serving Swiss-German Style Food. Schnitzels, Certified Black Angus Rib Eye, Salmon, Leg of Lamb, Quail and more. All prepared with Fresh Handmade Sauces. Her food creates music in your mouth touching spots you never knew you had. Lou has a certificate from her for "Hamburgers for Life" and you can bet he likes to collect on that when he can.

Since Eva's Holzer House Cafe is gone now and you won’t likely get a chance to taste her passion for food, I’ll tell you about another one....

Fleur de Blé a real French bakery in Marble Falls. Owned and operated by Jean Claude and Beatrice Walter from Lyon, France. It must be passion for them to get up every morning at 1 or 2 am to start the days baking. Their bread is incredible and oh so fresh and don't get me started on the pastry my teeth are sweet - all of them and their baking is pure magic! Huge THANKS go out to Marta Stafford at Riverbend Fine Art (a passionate art advocate / art lover / art collector / art gallery director) for pointing us in their direction and for being such a joy to work with!

SMELT


Treehouse Lab's Tung 50 Orange

I'm sure you can smell the passion in the two above mentioned in TASTED because many argue that you cannot taste without smell. I won't get into that argument, but I do want to take the opportunity to mention the wonderful smell of oranges the shop takes on when Lou is applying his finish.

Lou Quallenberg currently uses a natural plant based finish, Tung 50 Orange as his standard hand rubbed finish. It is made right here in the United States by Treehouse Lab. It smells like oranges so no obnoxious overwhelming fumes. It is a natural product so it is better for him and the environment and that makes it Win/Win!

FELT

New Ad Design.What do you think?

Passion can be touched and felt in the finish of Lou Quallenberg’s Mesquite Furniture. Well it can probably be touched, seen, smelled and heard in most of his pieces also. Heard you ask? Well yes, heard "calling out" for you to touch it.

The pieces do vibrate with his creative energy and love. But seriously we have clients that say they cannot walk by their piece without touching it.

And of course passion can be felt in the heart. We have found ours and we hope that you have found something in your life that you feel passionate about. If not what are you waiting for?

Making an Entrance: Mesquite Entry Table

2011-06-30T17:00:00.001-05:00

Live Edge Mesquite Entry Table with Turquoise Inlay by Lou Quallenberg more at: www.LouQart.com

After looking into our delivery options: Fredericksburg Shipping and Custom Delivery Service (both companies are really great at what they do!) we delivered this latest piece to Houston ourselves. Lou did not want to take the time off to run to Houston but he likes seeing where his babies will reside and getting a little taste of city life. I'm up for travel anytime I can get him out of the shop!

Slab for Mesquite Table Top

Slab Top on old style legs

This commissioned mesquite entry table was ordered as an anniversary gift for the clients. I think she mentioned that it was this table or a trip to Hawaii. WOW! Now that is a compliment. They contacted us while they were visiting Fredericksburg. They had seen Lou's work on the internet and wanted to see it in person and meet him. We were low on mesquite inventory at the time so I did not think he would have much to show them but I told them to come on to Llano and we could show them some of his work, the shop and get an idea of what they were looking for. I did not know that Lou had squirreled away a special slab of mesquite for an entry table. He does this sometimes with special pieces and then he has to make sure the client is worthy of the slab or slabs in the case of the Dancing Trees. These two clients were VERY special and he showed them the mesquite slab right away. It fit their length and width requirements and practically sold itself. We even had several new clients that wanted to buy the slab away from them once Lou had started the table.

They left the shop that day knowing they would have a sculpted, live edge, mesquite, entry table made by Lou Quallenberg for their anniversary. They also knew that due to the schedule it would not be finished until several months after their anniversary - but that it would probably be worth waiting for.

Sketch of Mesquite Entry Table

The sketch was emailed later that week and Lou began working it into the already full schedule. He was excited to get it started because he wanted to use the new more curved leg design. The clients had agreed to use the new design for the legs.

New Leg Design Pattern

New Leg taped out & ready to cut

New Leg Design Pattern

Lou made a pattern of the new leg to be sure he liked the curve and shape of the new design. Then he taped it out and then cut the legs from sturdy chunks. I always think he is crazy when he goes changing up the design style but he seems to know what he is doing because it never fails, I always prefer the new style of whatever he does.

Slab Mesquite Table Top and Base Curves

New Legs put together

New Legs and Front Curve

Next its all pieces and parts kind of like a large 3D puzzle. It is always exciting to see it go together for the first time and to finally stand on its own four legs! The laminated compound curved stretchers are usually the last part to be made. Each one is carefully created custom to the curve of the slab top. While this curve is a distinctive design element in his work it does actually serve a purpose. Lou's work is stable it does not wobble. This curve and the base curves provide an added measure of strength to the tables. The l/8th inch laminated pieces of mesquite once glued up are actually stronger than a piece of uncut mesquite of the same size.

Ready for some turquoise

It stands on its own

Matching curves in need of final stretcher

Adding the turquoise is the final step before the labor intensive two week hand rubbed oil finish. The turquoise inlay process is not a rushed step. Careful thought is put into adding just the right touch of turquoise. Each tiny piece of gem quality turquoise is added to the epoxied crack by hand with a pair of tweezers. Lou looks at the placement as an art form in itself and you can see the difference in his work compared to others.

Mesquite with Turquoise inlay

Turquoise Inlay

We have seen some craftsmen use cheap turquoise powder or even colored aquarium rocks as a filling for the cracks. Lou Quallenberg takes pride in his work and he treats each piece as a work of art. We abide by the saying:

"There are no short cuts to anyplace worth going."

Lou Quallenberg and Lou Quallenberg Studios stands for quality and we will not rush a project or compromise on quality. While our materials may cost more and the work may take longer, in the end it is worth it. We hope that the value is evident but there are some folks that just don't "get it." He has a few wood working friends that don't understand why he tortures himself with the compound curves, laminated curves and the extreme sanding and finishing. They don't understand that he is pouring his heart and soul into the piece and that when he is finished a part of him will be fused forever with the piece in a concept the Japanese call "takumi" (also meaning artisan or hand made.) These same folks also don't understand why he bothers to finish off the bottom of the piece as completely as the top and they REALLY don't understand how he can charge what he charges for a piece. Again they just don't "get it", but we do and we know our clients and future clients do as well.....

Lou Quallenberg's Live Edge Mesquite Entry Table with Turquoise Inlay

What an ENTRANCE! Mesquite Entry Table with Turquoise Inlay ready for Delivery.

Lou Quallenberg's Finished Mesquite Entry Table with Turquoise Inlay

Summer, Social Media, Shows & Sculpture

2011-05-26T08:44:00.002-05:00

SUMMER

As the summer heat gathers and begins to bear down on us.... (okay! okay! I know technically it is spring and summer is a month away) but seriously this IS Texas - and it is already in the 100's around these parts. We are trying to figure out how to keep the shop cool enough for Lou (& Barney) to actually WANT to go to work in it. I vote for a swimming pool but we would need one serious filter to keep that mesquite sawdust and English mastiff hair from clogging up the system. Lou wants an air conditioner but I know he would take one look at the first month's bill and never turn it on again. So I guess we will suffer through another Hill Country summer. We are all ears if you have a suggestion for an inexpensive, efficient way to cool a mesquite furniture making, wood shop in the heat of a Texas summer.

"Curves" Mesquite Coffee Table by Lou Quallenberg

SOCIAL MEDIA & SUCH

Does anyone else feel like the world is on hyper warp speed? Trying to keep up with marketing and social media it is a non stop learning curve. We are currently on facebook, twitter, Linked in, and blogger, we email, snail mail, we have land lines and cell phones and it is all almost too much to keep track of. Oh and did I mention a website in bad need of a face-lift? I am thankful that it is already a pretty mobile friendly website or that project would be marked "UBER" urgent.

This QR code takes the reader to our website.

Our latest marketing effort is directed specifically at mobile users. We are incorporating QR codes into our marketing materials. What? You don't know what a QR code is? QR is short for quick response and a QR code has the ability to take a mobile user with a smart phone directly to your website, video, message or phone number or information that you have embedded into the QR code. The QR code looks like a small square stamp-like bar code. Very popular in Japan since inception in 1994, they are finally starting to show up everywhere in the US. The only downside I can see is Microsoft's version Microsoft Tag, AT&T's version Mobile Barcode Services and the French company mobiletag watering down the use of QR codes making it confusing for consumers to know how to use them. It is frustrating enough when you can't get the darn thing to work as it is and adding three other tags to the mix means multiple code readers are needed. Yuck! I can't wait until they get the photo technology and image recognition precise enough to just take a photo to of the product to get more info about it. Yikes! That is really on its way folks! Check it out here: http://www.geosyncglobal.com/Kooaba.html and http://www.pongr.com

SHOWS

Unfortunately or maybe fortunately (because we are blessed to have the work) again due to a backlog of work and another October deadline this year, we will be unable to attend the Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We always look forward to this juried show, the wonderful artists it attracts and the chance to get out of the horrendous Texas heat. We may or may not make the Texas Mesquite Festival October7th-9th in Fredericksburg this year. It is an outdoor show and we just hate to do that to our furniture. The weather can be tricky in October. We do plan to make it to the 12th Annual Texas Furniture Makers Show November 10th - December 10th at the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center. Lou has been honored to receive the Best Texas Style Award for the past three years in a row at this juried show that puts about 50 Texas Furniture Makers on display for a full month in a beautiful gallery setting.

Who really knows what artists want from a show? The artists of course!

Several of our extremely talented artist friends recently exhibited at a very expensive but poorly publicized and poorly attended show. This was very expensive show representing top notch artists from all over the country. We had seriously considered putting Lou's work in this show but could not find time to make it work. We are so thankful now that we did not have the time and did not spend the money to attend this disastrous show. It did however get a group of us talking about putting together our own show or shows. Who really knows what artists want from a show? The artists of course! and the answer really is simple we just want buyers. Well maybe buyers and exposure, but mainly buyers!

If you have never been, you really owe it to yourself to attend the 40th Annual The Texas Arts & Craft Fair with over 200 artists and artisans is an amazing place to discover an artist or unique gift item. It is an outdoor show and really not an outlet for our work, but we love to attend, buy gifts and be inspired. If you make it to Kerrville on Memorial Weekend you should also check out The 8th Annual Texas Masters of Fine Art and Craft Invitational Exhibition at the YO Ranch Resort and Hotel. We stumbled on this show several years ago and are happy to see it is still going strong, representing the best of Texas Art and artists. We shouldn't be surprised since the show is organized and run by artists!

SCULPTURE

Lou Quallenberg's Sculptural Mesquite Furniture

Lou Quallenberg's mesquite furniture has always had a sculptural feel to it but ever since the Dancing Trees his work is taking on more and more of a sculptural feeling. This was made really evident to us as we finally found some time to photograph the "Curves Table".

Sculptural side view of "Curves"

Lou Quallenberg's work has always had a sculptural feel to it but ever since the Dancing Trees his work is taking on more and more of a sculptural feeling.

Lou Quallenberg's Sculptural Mesquite Furniture

Our Sell Sheet layout for "Curves"

This table was Lou's first attempt at adding a glass top. The glass is a beautiful, clear, large, piece of Starphire® glass. It was also a new design look and leg style. He turned the mesquite slab upside down from the way he normally uses it. Isn't it interesting that sometimes when we turn things upside down we discover that they are more beautiful than they were right side up? Perspective ALWAYS changes things. The dimensions of the table are 96”Lx 20”Wx 18”H.

Maybe you have space in a special place for this beautiful award winning show piece?

A Mesquite Dining Table : Dinner is Served

2011-04-28T10:42:00.000-05:00

The Sketch: Mesquite Dining Table

I just noticed that in all these blog postings we have not ever shown a mesquite project complete from start to finish. Since the mesquite dining table was recently delivered in time for Easter Dinner and we happen to have all the photos of the project from start to finish handy on the desktop of my computer a mesquite dining room table will be our first project shown from beginning to end.

Most of Lou's mesquite furniture projects start with a sketch. The sketch is a way to make sure he is on the same page as the client. This project started defined as as a mesquite dining table. The client knew he wanted Lou Quallenberg to design a mesquite dining table for his second home that would seat eight comfortably. We had photos and dimensions of the room but no decision on the shape of the table: rectangle, square or round. In order to help the client make a decision Lou made scale model versions of a square mesquite dining table and a rectangle mesquite dining table. He had enjoyed making the tiny scale models of "The Dancing Trees", the chapel and benches so this was inevitable. Several clients have expressed interest in the tiny model versions but I doubt it could ever be a profitable business model and talk about a niche, niche market. Not just mesquite furniture but mesquite dollhouse furniture! We are however looking at smaller versions of some products as a product line but more on that in a future blog post......

Square Mesquite Table Model

Rectangle Mesquite Table Model

After the client decided on a rectangle the approximate sized book matched mesquite slabs were found but once Lou started working with them the question became whether there would be enough space on the table to be comfortable. Lou recommended adding a five inch similar piece of mesquite down the middle to give a bit more elbow room and space on the table and the client agreed.

Two mesquite slabs too small?

Center strip added for size.

Brent Catterton's Shop

Rough mesquite dining table with tiny model.

Once the three pieces were joined the top required some evening up and major sanding. Since Lou does not have a wide belt sander but an artist friend that makes beautiful doors has one, Lou Quallenberg asked Brent Catterton of Catterton Woodworks in Boerne, Texas if he could give him a hand and run it through his machine - a step that would literally shave some time off the project. In this solitary workshop life sometimes it is really nice to visit with and share ideas and information with another artist. Lou drooled over the sander and the rest of Brent's shop and set up, a scene that has played out in reversed roles many times before.

Seeing the pieces all fit together roughly for the first time is always kinda magical. The table still required hours of sculpting and shaping but visually it was well on it's way at this point. Looking more and more like the tiny model version.

Black epoxy fills the hole.

A mesquite knothole inlay.

Knothole inlay?

The sculpting of the mesquite tables edge revealed that the one dip was going to be deeper and larger than Lou had originally thought. The table was to have a sprinkling of turquoise inlay throughout but this was a large spot. Lou filled it in with black epoxy and then tried to come up with a better solution than a large sunken black spot or turquoise spot. My brother, Shawn's idea was to use a knothole as an inlay to fill in the dip. Lou agreed and thought maybe it would add a bit of interest and camouflage. The client also preferred the look of the knothole so Lou went for it with his usual attention to detail. Another wood artist friend has already told Lou he would be stealing this technique for one of his special projects. That's the thing about artists they are always taking each others ideas and making them their own. It is flat out copying that we frown on, but can also see the flattery in.

Attaching legs to the base.

Pouring the Waterlox Tung Oil

Bob Pheil sprays a layer of the Waterlox finish.

The legs were attached to the base and final sanded for Lou's hand rubbed oil and wax finish. The mesquite top being used for a dining room table in a family with young children would require a more durable finish than Lou normally uses. Lou had brushed on the more durable Waterlox Original Satin tung oil finish in the past but artist friend and neighbor Bob Pheil of Pheil Forges had recently had success spraying the finish onto one of his pieces and offered to spray Lou's top. Lou stood by and wiped any drips as the eight day process built up a beautiful, layered, durable finish.

Lou Quallenberg wiping up drips.

Delivery is always an exciting day as the client gets their first look at their much anticipated new piece. It can also be a day of creative solutions as sometimes the homes have extensive landscapes, interesting entrances, and objects and animal that must be navigated through. This delivery was relatively easy compared to a few in the past.

Delivering can be a tricky process.

Top and base ready to be joined in their new home

Placing the mesquite top on the base.

We had our artist friend, helper and deliveryman Karl Rhodes and his lovely wife Mary along for the ride. It was a beautiful day to be out and about in the Texas Hill Country. Because we were in the area we ended up taking in a demonstration by Wimberley glass artist Tim deJong of Wimberley Glassworks. Lou would love to collaborate with him one day.

Saying goodbye as a new owner finds her spot.

Lou Quallenberg always has a hard time saying goodbye to each piece, as he has released a part of his spirit to be left with it.

I had fun watching as the children on this delivery picked their favorite special spots on the table. I hope that mom agreed with their choices because they seemed pretty determined that their choices would be their spots for the many future meals they would enjoy on it. I am confident it will become a treasured family piece either way.

Spring greening.....

2011-03-30T12:37:00.003-05:00

The mesquite trees have done their thing here in the Texas Hill Country and while we may not have our deep blue seas of bluebonnets this year, the hills are alive with the electric, yellowy, lime, green feathers of the mesquite. Read more about the mesquite in spring (Mesquite Tree Poetry.) HERE

The mesquite in spring robed in a fine feathery lime green.....

With all this green sprouting everywhere we spent a little time this month going over our own greenness and renewing our commitment taking care of this beautiful planet we live on and share. Watching the tragedy in Japan build as the nuclear reactors continue to crumble and melt made us take a closer look at ourselves and what we do in our individual daily lives as well as Lou's mesquite furniture making.

Lou currently uses a natural plant based finish, Tung 50 Orange made here in the US by Treehouse Lab, as his standard hand rubbed finish. It smells like oranges so no obnoxious fumes. Better for him better for the environment and you can't beat that. That is just one of the many ways we try to live as green as possible.

As busy as he is we should be rolling in GREEN! We are having a growth spurt here at Lou Quallenberg Studios so it may be time to start expanding and adding some help. We will do this in baby steps because we have seen what can happen if you bite off more than you can chew. Our main concern with expansion is keeping quality and attention to detail as the focal point of what is created here, it is what Lou Quallenberg Studios is all about and that will not ever change. If you have tips and tricks to expanding and growing a successful business, that you would like to share, we are all ears.

We have been scouting for a new larger location to house a home, shop and studio all on site. It would enable Lou to work later and longer and still participate in our family life. I would like a place to develop art education and promote some of the other amazing artists we know. Give us a heads up if you know of something in the Llano or surrounding area that might work. We do not plan to leave the Texas Hill Country.

Lou Quallenberg shows his turquoise inlay process.

Lou places each piece individually to get the right look.

Speaking of art and education. The @LAST Llano Art Studio Tour was an unbelievable success!! We had over 60 people stop by the shop to visit and 30 attended the turquoise inlay demonstration. Lou only planned for a handful to be at the demo so it was a tight fit around the table, a bit difficult to hear him speaking and boy was it hot in the shop. We will plan better for next year and who knows maybe we will get the video finished so you can watch it anytime in the convenience of your own air conditioned home. THANK YOU to everyone that came out to see us and the 16 other Art Studios. I think we were all blown away by the support from the community and visiting tourists. We had visitors from Canada, Washington, South Dakota and all over Texas. You can help us get ready for next year by liking the @LAST Llano Art Studio Tour facebook page HERE.

Thirty people attended the turquoise inlay demo.

We are proud to announce that one of Lou Quallenberg's Mesquite Entry Tables is featured in the April/ May 2011 TexasLIVE Magazine. This is a great magazine with lots of interesting articles. There was one on Apron's that we both loved reading and then one of our friends saw it at the Art Studio Tour and said that her niece had written it. I tell ya is such a small small world!

We made the April/May 2011 Issue of TexasLIVE Magazine!!


Lou's Mesquite Entry Table featured in the Good Living Section - lone star style

And speaking of the WORLD our mesquite tables finally made it into the United Kingdom and are on there way to being photographed and featured around the UK and Europe check out our web page HERE (Mesquite Furniture in London) for regular updates. We are anxiously awaiting the newly designed website for The Mesquite Company as they change their name from Hill Country Mesquite to The Mesquite Company. Joe and Amie Prest are our wonderful representatives for the UK and Europe and we are so proud to be a part of what they are doing. Like them on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/mesquitecompany

Trail of the Deer "Big Bucks

While The Trail of the Deer Auction did not bring in the "Bigger Bucks" it did bring in enough to continue the program for another year. We were sad to see that several of the dear deer will be leaving Llano so the program is being revised making the "Art Deer" available for purchase prior to painting. Our hope is that local businesses, community groups, and even events will purchase a deer (or two) to use as advertising and keep it in town to attract tourists as well as show support for the arts in Llano, Texas. Lou Quallenberg Studios GREEN Deer "Mr. Big Bucks" was purchased by Icon Poly the Company that made the deer forms for The Trail of the Deer Project. He will be heading to his new home in Nebraska soon so stop by and rub him for good luck before he leaves Llano. His green good looks have sure brought us luck

British Airways Face to Face Award Conference

2011-02-28T13:48:00.000-06:00

British Airways Face to Face Award Conference

Thank you British Airways You are First Class ALL the Way!!!

Keith Williams CEO British Airways

Simon Talling-Smith holding our Mesquite Sample

After a few travel bumps and bruises caused by the bad weather and because of the extreme generosity of British Airways I finally made it to London. I was there without my carefully thought out and packed luggage, but there was something almost freeing about that situation and besides I had Lou Quallenberg's mesquite furniture portfolio, business cards and the little wooden mesquite samples he had made. What else did I really need?

British Airways is FIRST CLASS!!

I had tried for several days to make it to New York but the weather just would not cooperate. So when British Airways kindly offered to fly me direct from Dallas to London, so I could at least make the final portion of the Face to Face Global Entrepreneur Conference I got myself to Dallas as fast as I could. I ended up meeting Chris McKee a fellow Face to Face award recipient in the British Airways VIP lounge, a perk that the ticket agent granted me due to my mounting travel woes. Chris is Founder and Managing Partner of Venturity Financial Partners in Dallas, Texas and would turn out to be a great coach for using the London Underground. Chris was also suffering from lost luggage but he had managed a "Plan B" bag which was good because he was headed to Bangalore, India and his first bag did not find him before he left. At the time we thought we were the only Face to Face folks on the plane.

I met Kenyatta Harris owner of 4 $hades Clothing and Tshirts of Dallas,Texas in the Heathrow Sofitel Hotel lobby and was so totally surprised when he informed me that he had sat behind me on the plane from Dallas. I wish I had known sooner because we really hit it off and could have spent the day hanging out until the reception. At the champagne reception I recognized Rishi Khanna, CEO/Managing Director of ISHIR Infotech as the guy that sat across the aisle from me on the airplane. Rishi, Chris and Chris Eilers owner of Dunn Brothers Coffee (and one of the top three finalists of the Face of Opportunity Contest) are all members of EO Entrepreneurs' Organization a group that I jokingly referred to as a cult because they all talked about what a great organization it is. I am seriously looking into membership options because of the way those guys talked, one of the requirements is $1million in revenue so we will work on that step first. Hey Dream it! Believe it! Make it happen!!!

Chair in London Hotel Lobby

Chairs in Barcelona Hotel Lobby

Some of Gaudi's Furniture Designs

The Champagne Reception was First Class, like as I would find out, everything British Airways did for us. I finally got to meet Jenny Walker face to face but unfortunately did not ever hear her sing in person. I tried to make up for lost time and catch up with some of the folks I had hoped and planned to meet but there was so little time and so MANY people! I did get a brief glimpse of the glamorous Thea Marx. I briefly met Anne Tedesco VP Marketing NA for British Airways, and Melissa Fernandez Evans Face of Opportunity Campaign Project Manager at British Airways but a HUGE amount of THANKS goes out to these two woman for such a great conference.

The Breakfast Meeting the following morning was a huge spread of eggs, bacon, sliced meats, fruit, breads, cheeses, the very odd but very English baked beans and tea lots of tea, although I went for the coffee. We heard from Simon Talling-Smith EVP Americas for British Airways, Nik Haigh Director of Grassroots Soccer and a Grant Recipient from British Airways, Keith Williams CEO of British Airways, Lord Stephen Green UK Minister for Trade and Sir Clive Woodward Olympic Performance Director, British Olympic Association. I met Nannette Hunter at this meeting and we hope to do a collaboration with her and D-Unique Tools- Universal Square at some point in the future.

Once the conference was over and we were all on our own, headed off to our "face to face "meetings and other destinations my luggage decided to FINALLY make an appearance.

Saturday morning thanks again to Chris McGee and his guide tour services I found my way to the Train Station at Kings Cross (of Harry Potter Fame) to meet up with Joe and Amie Prest from The Mesquite Company. This was my "face to face meeting" with the company that was bringing Lou's work to the United Kingdom. Unfortunately Lou's tables had not made it across the pond but they were in transit and expected any day.

V&A Museum London

Sponge w/custard

We went to several potential Gallery spaces to see if any felt suitable for his work. I found it interesting that most of the Galleries required you to ring a bell to be buzzed in. The artwork was incredible we saw one of David Mach's super sized wire hanger sculptures- so cool. We also went to the Victoria and Albert Museum finding inspiration in every corner of this huge museum.

Amie did not want her photo taken but I should have insisted on one of the two of them after all it was about Face to Face. We made a stop to eat and rest our feet at a traditional English style pub. We all had the fish and chips which was delicious. Dessert was interesting to say the least. Amie and I shared the sponge with custard. It was my first and hopefully last sponge. Amie who is originally from Texas nailed it when she compared it to an undercooked corn muffin. I know Joe was hoping to take a spin on the London Eye but my energy had run out and as the light began to fade I knew I needed to get on the underground and get headed back to the hotel.

Lamppost inspiration in Barcelona

Sunday I packed up my bags and headed back to London's HeathrowAirport to go on to Barcelona, Spain. I had hoped to meet up with a Furniture company that we had admired online but could not make it happen in the short amount of time I had changing my destination from Cairo to Barcelona. I did have enough time to find a great place to stay: Hotel Praktik which I would highly recommend for location, service and charming architecture. I was a bit intimidated getting on the plane to Barcelona and not knowing for sure what I would do or where I would go. I decided to just enjoy the journey and see where I was lead. Had I done more research I would have made a point of making it to Montserrat to see the Black Madonna because that is the sort of thing I truly enjoy religious mystery and the sacred. As it was I fell in love with Barcelona the art and architecture, the people, and the the lifestyle. I spent most of my time at La Sagrada Familia and Park Güell admiring with the work of Antoni Gaudí. The entire time I was there I knew that I would be coming back because Lou REALLY needs to see, feel, taste and touch this place. I'll work on that.

Self portrait at Park Güell

Mike Goodstadt aboard British Airways

The flight back to London was where I met and visited "face to face" with Mike Goodstadt a young architect, designer and genealogist from Valencia. Mike was traveling on business to London with Lavernia & Cienfuegos. He told me about designing and building webpages using Squarespace and a book he was reading called Trust Agents by Chris Brogan. I look forward to sharing more with this creative young man. I only hope I can be half as helpful to him someday.

Overall it was a whirl wind trip that filled my head with inspiration and ideas that should pay off long into the future for Lou Quallenberg Studios.

Back in Texas...................

Llano's Trail of the Deer Art Project 2010-2011

@LAST Llano Art Studio Tour March 26th 2011

When I got back I had to hit the ground running as Llano's Trail of the Deer Art Project wraps up it's initial year 2010-2011. Today is the FINAL day to place bids on these works of art. The money raised will be used to purchase more Deer for the 2011-2012 Trail of the Deer Project.

BID HERE NOW.

Lou Quallenberg Studios is also a participating artist in the @LAST Llano Art Studio Tour on Saturday March 26th, 2011. It will be a great opportunity to meet our wonderful and ever growing population of Llano's Resident Artists. Lou Quallenberg will demonstrate his process of turquoise inlay into mesquite at 2:00pm.

Our spring is shaping up to be one of the busiest yet and for that HUGE thanks goes out to our clients, friends and supporters. Thank You! Thank you! Thank You!

Bon Voyage! Safe Journey! & London here I come

2011-01-31T13:00:00.000-06:00

Bon Voyage!! Tables leave the shop.

Shop to Trailer to London! Good Bye!

Bon Voyage! We whispered aloud as the trailer pulled away from the shop. Safe journey was our wish for the two tables that were safely wrapped and strapped into the trailer being pulled by Thad Hanna of Fredericksburg Shipping. We had originally planned to follow the trailer and record the process of the journey that began in Llano and had two more stops before it even left the "Great State" of Texas. The mesquite tables were bound for Fredericksburg where Thad would work his magic, build crates and prepare the shipment for the port of Houston and it's long journey across the pond. We thought this was our last glimpse of the tables and got a bit misty eyed.

As they pulled out of the driveway almost on cue Lou received a phone call request from Joe Prest of Hill Country Mesquite in the UK to add a block of mesquite wood to the shipment, if we had it on hand. We found a nice piece of mesquite that fit the size requirements for the UK project so we took the trip to Fredericksburg. This meant we got to see the girls one last time already safely packed into their crate and ready for their journey over seas.

Lou gets to say goodbye AGAIN!

This one still needs it's crate.

Staked and Packed

I wish that my travel preparations were as easy as theirs looked from my perspective. Although I know we were not involved in the paperwork and delivery details, that I am sure could make a person CRAZY if they did not know what they were doing, shipping furniture to another country. So THANK YOU!! Thad Hanna and Amie & Joe Prest for your hard work and knowledge on both ends, that made this so easy for us here at Lou Quallenberg Studios in Llano, Texas.

It is not that my travel arrangements are really all that difficult it's just that because of a few health and energy issues each step of the way has to be planned out with some scheduled down time.

The part of the trip that British Airways is taking care of was all set up:

Feb 2nd

Global Entrepreneur Conference in New York

Celebrity Entrepreneurs Bill Rancic, Barbara Corcoran, Rhonda Abrams

Feb 3rd

Fly to London on Private British Airways Flight

Champagne Reception London

Feb 4th

Breakfast Conference London
Keith Williams, CEO, British Airways
Lord Stephen Green, UK Minister for Trade and Investment
Sir Clive Woodward, Olympic Performance Director, British Olympic Association

After Friday each of the 250 British Airways Face of Opportunity Award recipients are on their own with a free flight to ANYWHERE British Airways flys for their face to face meetings. The destinations are as diverse as the businesses represented. My plans for Cairo and the pyramids were changed due to the recent protests, violence and upheaval as I post this I am scrambling to make plans in Barcelona.

The group has already started networking on Linked In. Our frequent input (using Lou's profile-because I don't have time to manage his profile and mine) on the Linked In Group caused British Airways to invite us to be one of ten Quick Tips Filmmakers at the conference. They will give me a question to ask as many of the people at the conference as i can while recording the answers. I have already connected with the lovely and talented Jennie Walker a musician with an incredible voice. Her song Night Flight to London (click here to hear it) is already my theme song for this trip and I am sure it will be the whole group's theme song by the end of the trip. I can't wait to know her better and hear that voice in person.

I am also looking forward to meeting Judith Z. Miller an artist that works with sticks and stones making an unusual line of wearable art. Judith hopes to head to Thailand after the conference if she can raise the funds on another award recipient Danae Ringlemann's website Indie GoGo a very cool crowd funding or international fund raising website. Jennie Walker is raising funds for her trip there as well. I hope to use the Indie GoGo site at some point in the future to put into motion my dreams of a Hill Country Artist Retreat, Art Education and Art Ranch.

Thea Marx of Contemporary Western Design has already set up a meeting with Harrods in London and plans to go on to Paris to meet with folks from the Louve about a Western Design and Style show like she puts on every year in Wyoming. T. Cat Ford is a writer and will be meeting with theater companies about her play THE CHAOS TRADE - An American Comedy of Investment Errors. Debbie Nathan is the founder and executive director of Artsbridge Inc. a place that gives Israeli and Palestinian youth the opportunity to see each other as human beings using art. Okay I know I am mentioning mostly artists but that is who I usually connect with.

Here are just a few of the interesting products/ businesses that are represented by the group:

DESIGN

Adrienne Neff, adrienne neff design services llc (Designer Wall paper WOW!)

Barbara Barran, Classic Rug Collection, Inc. (the Highest quality Custom rugs)

Vincent Lai, Skinny Vinny Designer bags

Roseanne Horn, tili group, llc. Tili Bags colorful ziptop plastic bags

Rachelle Kuramoto, kigo footwear LLC

Jeanette Gray, PinkMeadow.com all things pink and green

Harriet Seltzer, Things Deco (one of my favorite design styles!)

Jane Angelich with Super Collar a retractable leash collar

TOOLS

Bill McClelland, Bag Snaggers, Inc.

Nanette Hunter, D-Unique Tools- Universal Square

Kahoru Watanabe, Wing Power Inc (really neat Solar/ Wind towers)

GAMES

Brian Mooney, The Storymatic
Mark Burginger, Qubits Toy Company (this could go under design as well!)

Stephen de Zordo, InPlay Products, Inc. KOOBA

FOOD

Erica Kalick - Erica's Rugelach & Baking, Co Yum!

Kristin Sharma, Modern Day Masala

Artemis Kohas, Mshop LLC dba mastihashop (never heard of this but I REALLY want to try it)

MEDIA

Donna Drake, Drake Media Network,Inc. Live it Up Show

Darnell Sue, Girl Power Hour

BEAUTY

Edna Ma BareEase & cream to numb skin before waxing

Amy Galper Buddha Nose Ltd

Please note there are quite a few Non profit groups as well and I just do not have time to list each one and their cause but I encourage you to go to the Contest website here and look them ALL up because this is such a great group.

I could go on and on because there are so many unique and great company's represented and I hope that I get a chance to at least meet them all and connect with as many as possible.

By the time you read this I will be on my way to New York.......

OUT with the OLD in with the NEW (year and other stuff)

2010-12-30T12:12:00.000-06:00

So here it is the end of the year and WHAT we only made one video this year? How did that happen? We started last year with every intention of creating one a month for a total of twelve. That makes us eleven videos short! Oh well you know the saying: "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". ( I think the road to heaven is paved with LOVE but that's just my opinion.) Maybe next year the videos will take precedence over the blog - just a thought not a promise. In case you missed it here is our one and only Mesquite Furniture Making Video - to date:

So WHAT have we been working on? Well unfortunately not a whole lot of Mesquite Furniture work going on at this time. The Dancing Trees took a huge amount of time and energy and most of our large mesquite wood inventory. We are waiting on usable mesquite wood (slabbed and dried) to begin the chapel benches that go alongside the Dancing Trees. Lou has been tied up ripping out the tub in my parent's bathroom replacing it with a walk in shower and widening the doorways to make it all wheelchair accessible. Out with the OLD bathroom and in with the NEW. Lou Quallenberg is mighty handy to have around - but seriously what a true waste of talent!

Taking care of an injured and aging parent has taken its toll in both time and energy from both of us. Not only do we worry over MeMaw's health and care we also have to make sure PaPaw does not over do it while looking after her. We both look forward to the NEW year in hopes that MeMaw's healing means out with the OLD cast, in with the NEW improved, stronger ankle and overall physical MeMaw in general. A big THANK YOU from the Walker, Quallenberg and Martin families goes out to Llano Nursing and Rehabilitation, Physical Therapist Linda Walling, Occupational Therapist Luis Sirvent and all of the caregivers that took such good care of her. We only have two skilled nursing facilities in Llano, Texas and only one that provides the much needed services of rehabilitation.

Any day now the two Jackson & Sister Tables will be headed OUT on their journey to the UK where they will make their debut in London. We are proud to have a few NEW representatives for our work. The lovely and talented Amie Prest and her hard working husband Joe Prest the owners of Hill Country Mesquite will be introducing Lou Quallenberg's Mesquite Art Furniture to the UK and Europe. We look forward to a long and prosperous partnership with the Prests. Their passion for Mesquite combined with their positive energy is a sight to behold. The fine folks at Hill Country Mesquite will also be promoting Mesquite, Mesquite Products as well as the fine works of Shangri-la Woodworks and Texas Mesquite Co. We wish them super success as they start this new venture.

Because we had made the decision to partner with Hill Country Mesquite and get our work shown on the London worldwide stage it was an easy decision to enter the British Airways Face of Opportunity Contest with a chance to win a trip to NYC / London and on to any destination that British Airways flys.

First let me say that we may not have found out about the British Airways Contest if it had not been for Thea Marx of Contemporary Western Design mentioning it on her facebook page. Her promotion of all things contemporary and western is amazing. This woman is a one horse promoting machine!!! We thought for sure she would be one of the finalists for the TEN ticket prize British Airways is giving away. Check out her video here: youtube

So we entered the essay contest on a whim thinking wouldn't it be nice to go and see Lou's pieces in London or wherever they end up overseas. Well it is about that time that MeMaw ended up in the hospital and voting deadline was a few short days away. We kinda lost track of what was going on then Amie Prest emailed us to tell us the Texas Hill Country Fans on facebook had taken up the cause. They voted their hearts out daily (and so did most of our friends) and because of that we WON!!

Our Winning Essay:

Lou Quallenberg's Texas Mesquite Art: London DEBUT
My business tip is to follow your passion. If you are doing your own THING and starting up a business, it is guaranteed that you are going to be working harder and longer than the competition and all of your 9 to5 friends. This means you better be doing that one THING that makes your heart sing!
My THING is creating art furniture from one of the most amazing woods I have ever seen: Texas Mesquite. Much like me- this very hard, craggly, gnarly wood is full of character, holes and color variations created from the stressful conditions that the tree survives and thrives in. The wood has a rich color range that flows from golden blonde to a rich, deep, velvet red and so many stunning combinations in between. No two pieces are ever the same and I try to use that uniqueness to my advantage. My one of a kind sculpted designs are created and inspired by each individual piece of wood as I attempt to honor the incredible life that the tree lived.
My company Lou Quallenberg Studios in Llano, Texas was recently contacted by Hill Country Mesquite in Nottinghamshire, England. Their THING is to market mesquite and mesquite products in the UK. The company and I have reached an agreement to export some of my pieces to England to be part of their showcase of mesquite art pieces at the end of this year and early part of next year. I would like to travel to London to help promote this incredible wood and my furniture art to an audience of Art Galleries, Home and Garden Magazines, and prospective clients that are currently being courted by Hill Country Mesquite. I am very excited to have my work put onto the world stage with London as the launch pad and it would be so incredible to actually be on location for it‘s debut.
While I’m in the UK I would like to pay a visit to master craftsman, furniture maker and teacher David Savage at the Rowden farm Workshops in Devon. It would be a dream come true to take a class, but at the very least I would like to see the shop, gain a few woodworking tips, be inspired and perhaps discuss the merits of mesquite wood.
I would feel honored to attend any business forums or seminars that British Airways puts together for small business. So I’m asking you to please help me play a bigger role on the world business stage and help me grow my business into a lasting legacy, so I can just keep doing my THING.

Due to a conflict in schedules Cheryl Quallenberg will be making the trip and attending the conferences representing Lou Quallenberg Studios in place of the busy Lou Quallenberg and you can be sure she will be posting about it on the blog hopefully with a few pictures and great stories. Just stay tuned.

Don't forget if you are not in London you can see Lou's work Stateside at these two fine Galleries both NEW representatives this year:

Riverbend Fine Art

710 1st Street
Marble Falls, TX 78654

830-693-6632

Circle on the Square

103 east main
llano,texas 78643
325.247.4963

and you can always visit us online

www.LouQart.com

or stop by the shop and we can show you what we have going on

just call first to be sure we are around and not off flying around the world.

While we were so very sad with the sudden OUT going of life and light from our sweet Louie this year, we are so very happy with our NEW puppy Barney.

He turns a year old in January and he has gone from 95 lbs to 150 lbs in the small amount of time we have had him. He literally grows before our eyes some days. Every pound he adds somehow expands our hearts more than we ever thought possible. He has brought his delightful lumbering puppy bounce and his wavy walk into our lives and while he slobbers more than Louie ever did, it is still so much less than our Jake who slobbered all over our hearts and home when he was alive.

A word of Congratulations goes out to Llano, Texas for making True West Magazine's List of Top Ten True Western Towns. While we helped do the work of putting the application together it was the charm of Llano's History, Llano's Historic Courthouse and Red Top Jail and the hard work of MANY that create and put on the events that evoke the Western Spirit of this great little town. We are so happy to be a part of this great small town. Thank you Llano, Texas!!!

Cheryl & Lou Quallenberg with Mr. Big Bucks

Don't forget that the auction for the Trail of the Deer Community Art Project has begun. Put your bucks down for Big Bucks or one of his beautiful herd mates!!! The money goes to create more deer for the Trail of the Deer and to promote Art in Llano, Texas.

It's been an amazing and blessed year for us with we made a Video, have not one but two NEW Galleries representing us, painted a deer for Trail of the Deer, created Dancing Trees, made the London Connection, Won the Rikon Mini Lathe via a Client, Won Best Texas Style Award (3 years in a row), Won British Airways Face of Opportunity Award, helped Llano make the True West Top Ten and received a GIANT Puppy, we truly have so much to be thankful for and WE ARE!! So OUT with the OLD year and in with the NEW Year. With the amazing way the past year went I doubt we can even start to imagine the possibilities of the NEW YEAR.....

Mesquite Sources and Many Thanks!

2010-11-30T23:37:00.002-06:00

This month has presented us with a new journey as we work through the steps of having to care for an aging parent. MeMaw (Cheryl’s mother / Lou Quallenberg's mother in law) fell and broke her ankle while visiting at our house. She required surgery and because her opposite leg had been shattered 43 years ago - almost to the date, her opposite knee was already scheduled for replacement, and she had poor upper body strength, she requires rehab and therapy in the local nursing home. Ahhh the dreaded nursing home or “sniff” as one doctor called it “Skilled Nursing Facility” Oh my we have so much to learn....

November found us in short supply of dried and ready to work mesquite our inventory having been recently diminished creating the “Dancing Trees”. Our scouting and sourcing mesquite wood really opened our eyes to how much the Texas Mesquite Industry really is in it’s infancy. We were quoted any where from $12 a board foot to $100 a board foot and many ranges in between with the average at $24 a board foot. Unable to find what we needed size wise, already dried we ended up with a truckload of logs.

Since promoting mesquite is what we are about we thought we would share our sources and promote these folks who are making a living with mesquite.

Lou w/Mesquite Burl's Dan & Josh

Mesquite Burl

Josh and Dan

1715 Rowe Lane Suite A
Pflugerville, TX 78660

Phone: 512-782-0497

Barney visiting Mesquite Burl

These guys have some great wood on hand focusing on book matched sets. We ended up buying and strapping two heavy slabs into the back of the truck for a clients dining room table project. As we drove out the driveway we received a call from the client about a change in design. (Oh well it is mesquite and I know we will use it!!) Barney loved the visit and has requested a trip to see the huge burl that they have at their kiln location. It is reported to be a monster and possibly the biggest ever. Lou has his heart set on finding a project for it.

Brandon Berdoll's specially designed spacers

Berdoll Sawmill & Furniture Co.

Brandon Berdoll
4754 FM 535
Cedar Creek, Texas 78612
Phone: 512-497-5910

Brandon Berdoll at his Mill

Brandon Berdoll met us at the Fredericksburg Mesquite Show with photos of a giant tree. We were surprised when he showed up the following day with the tree loaded on a trailer, causing quite a stir and stepping on a few toes. He has since joined the Mesquite Association and learned that lesson.

Lou w/ Brandon Berdoll at his Sawmill

His operation is geared more towards pecan which makes sense because his family has a huge pecan orchard and retail store. Brandon tried to work in the family business but it was clear his passion was for the wood. Brandon's passion for doing things the right way comes across clearly from his specially designed wood risers that leave a smaller footprint on the slabs of wood, to his system of keeping the wood in flitches.

Flitch: A flitch is a complete log slabbed lengthwise and then placed back together in sequential order. The advantage of having a flitch is to ensure matching grain and color. This can be very important to a project especially with the wide color ranges that mesquite can come in.

We love Brandon's infectious passion for doing things right and his admirable collection of huge pecan trees and slabs. Lou has even considered experimenting with some pecan but he knows his time is limited and he already has a growing collection of mesquite. Guess you can't have enough wood.

Sage Creek Farms
Lee Westphal
2350 CR202
Burnet, Texas 78611
Phone: 512-784-2512
Sawmill and woodworking

Lee Westphal is another young whippersnapper that we truly appreciate. Lou met and befriended him when he was running the mill in Burnet, Texas: Hill Country Woodworks. Lee is a real go getter, always working even his vacations are work. He goes to the Crater of Diamonds State Park and digs for diamonds and he has quite a collection to show for it!!! Lee bought the saw and will still be cutting some of our wood. He knows how Lou likes it and we are loyal customers.

Ed the Woodsman / Tejas Mesquite

Ed Edwards
1324 FM 2606
Henrietta, Texas 76365
Phone: 940-704-2404

Truckload of Mesquite delivered to the door.

Ed the Woodsman and Lou Quallenberg

We had heard about Ed Edwards from several sources and only wish we had reached out sooner. Ed was only happy to bring a load of mesquite logs to Llano, Texas with no obligation to buy. Lou really liked what he saw and bought the whole load. The logs were inventoried and each given a price so he really was under no obligation but he could not resist. Besides he needed to get started finding the wood for the benches for the chapel in Bandera. Ed Edwards unloaded and organized the logs for Lou even offering to help move them at a later date. It is so great to work with people that really enjoy what they do. It is obvious that Ed and everyone else mentioned above enjoys what they do.

Ed moved the logs

and moved them

and left them all nice and organized.

THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!

Thank you to everyone who voted, and voted, and voted regularly in the British Airways Face of Opportunity Contest! HUGE thanks to Texas Hill Country group on Face book , the gang at 401 creative, and Joe and Amie Prest with Hill Country Mesquite across the pond in Nottighampshire, England. We still don’t know the results but does it really matter? It was fun.

Oops! Just found out WE WON!!!!!! Yeah! A trip to London for ONE in Feb on specific dates because of the conferences in NYC and London. I am checking on the cost of companion tickets as I write this.

Speaking of thank you's below are photos of Lou delivering a long promised table to the wonderful gentleman and family that contacted us to cut down a tree that threatened their house. This is the same tree that provided the slabs for "Dancing Trees" that went into the chapel in Bandera. The family felt like it was a full circle moment since his family had come from Spain, building chapels along the way. I love how God works.....

Lou returns a part of the tree in table form.

Yep it feels nice Lou Quallenberg!!

Working with LOVE and Letting Go

2010-10-31T21:52:00.002-05:00

What a busy month it has been!
We actually took a break from the shop to show Lou's work at the Texas Mesquite Art Festival in Fredericksburg. We caught up with our artist friends, made so many great contacts and gave out more cards than we had actually planned for. We are now the proud owners of the Rikon Mini Lathe that Wood Craft raffled off for the Texas Mesquite Association thanks to our dear client friend's George & Sheila R. who bought a ticket saying they would give it to Lou if they won it. I'm the one that really wanted the mini lathe but that is a whole story for another time....

The Dancing Trees were safely delivered and installed in their recently constructed, private chapel home in Bandera. You can read a bit more on that below.

Carolyn's Curves at the TFM Show

The Carolyn's Curves table was finished up in the nick of time and delivered to the Texas Furniture Makers Show in Kerrville as the final coat of oil and wax slowly dried and was quickly but lovingly rubbed in. As we headed home from the show drop off we received word that my great uncle Gene Walker (age 101) had passed away. He was an amazing man serving as Director of Wildlife Services for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and marrying his best friend's widow at age 85. He will be missed.

As I write this we attended the Texas Furniture Makers Show Award Ceremony and Reception and I'm proud to announce Lou's winning streak continues on, with a 3rd year in a row Best Texas Style Award. Not bad for a Jersey Boy! (MORE HERE)

Then to wrap it all up, a partnership between Lou Quallenberg Studios and Hill Country Mesquite in Nottinghamshire, England was developed with the agreement of sending the two Jackson Sister tables abroad to spread the word about both mesquite and Lou Quallenberg's Art Furniture Style.WOW! We are like worried parents as we let them go on this fabulous journey.

I wanted to touch a bit on the subject of letting go. I can't speak for other artists but for Lou and I a sense of loss is felt each time we deliver a piece to it's new home or client. So much time, love, energy and spirit is poured into each piece that the separation comes with a feeling of loss. I can't speak from experience but I believe it is much like the feeling a woman has just after giving birth. The piece is made real and becomes it's own entity, set free into the world, no longer a part of you but still holding a piece of you inside. It is at this point that hopefully another project or piece is there waiting in the wings to be made or the sense of loss can linger and turn into an emotional depression. (yep, been there.) We are becoming better at this letting go thing, but there are several pieces that remain in our possession that I suspect we have not been able to release emotionally and therefore are blocking the financial sale of them.

The Dancing Trees Project being one of Lou's largest pieces to date, was an incredible piece both in size and the time constraints placed on the project. Lou is not comfortable working quickly, he prefers to take time with his pieces often saying "you can't rush art." Most of his clients agree and wait patiently for their piece to be considered "done" by Lou's perspective.

We both truly believe the quote:

"Work is love made visible" Kahlil Gibran.

So when he agreed to take the project with the October 25th deadline we knew it would mean many late nights and no real time off until the piece was delivered. When the client later requested that the following bible verse:

The wood burned bible verse on the back of Lou Quallenberg's Dancing Trees

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”(Col 3:23-24 NIV)

be added to the back of the Dancing Trees Lou thought "Oh no problem, we can just have a piece laser engraved and then embed it into the back." WRONG! She said no, she wanted LOU to actually carve or burn it in.

Lou was so worried that he would make a mistake or that the results would be unprofessional and look like a five year old had done it. There would not be time to get the piece done and add the scripture, so it was agreed that he would add it at a later date. Well Lou really does not like to do a job half way. I have found that as you work with love in your heart and soul, the spirit takes over, and time actually has the ability to stretch. Sometimes this is referred to as being in the the zone. In this case it stretched enough for him to practice wood burning, Dremel and carving.

Lou Quallenberg's Dancing Trees glow during installation into their Chapel home.

He found that with such a short learning period, he produced the best results with the wood burning. He also discovered that the wood burning worked better on an un-oiled surface, so he taped off one of his signature curves into a scroll like area and sanded it down. Then using a font that the client chose he burned the words one by one. Next he added the oil and wax finish. The writing is inscribed on a lighter area with a desired ghosted effect to help aid in the visibility.

Lou Quallenberg's Dancing Trees were installed WITH the inscription because he worked with love in his heart and time stretched so the project would be complete.

Now we all know WHO did the stretching and had HIS hands all over this entire project from start to finish and for that we say a BIG thank you! We have been so very blessed.

Show Time and a New Look

2010-09-30T12:42:00.000-05:00

It is American Craft Week this week October 1st-10th 2010. Support your local and American artists, artisans and craftsmen this week and every week, ALL year long. It is a part of what makes America great! Find more info online here: http://americancraftweek.com/


The Chapel Construction Site "Noah's Dream"

The final push to complete The Dancing Trees portion of this large commission project is underway. We made a quick visit to the Chapel site in Bandera and it seems they are in the same boat. Push push push!

I am not sure where Lou gets his stamina but I am, as always, in awe. He has been working until eight or nine almost every night and he takes a partial day off only when I begin kicking and screaming. Hey it is hard to compete with those seven lovely mesquite ladies in all their wood grained glory! They consume him. Speaking of consuming our evening meal is usually at 9 or 9:30pm and probably why I am currently gaining weight. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.

Barney 126lbs?!!

BTW Barney is currently tipping the scales at 126 lbs with three more months to go before he hits his first birthday.

It will be tight but we DO still hope and plan to show at the Texas Mesquite Association's Mesquite Art Festival in Fredericksburg, Texas on October 8th, 9th and 10th, 2010.

Our Niece Taylor Martin

Because of the Show we will have my niece's Sweet 16 Birthday Party on that Thursday instead of Friday (then she will have her Paintball Party on that Sunday with her friends.)

Happy Sweet Sixteen Taylor Leigh Martin! We Love You!! She is so Sa-Weet! (A lil sassy too! )

At the Fredericksburg Mesquite Art Festival/Show we will get to catch up with our artist friends Craig Lagerstrom, Cappy White and Scott & Stephanie Shangraw and hopefully make some $ales. Pray for good weather! It was wet and cold last year. Wet and cold is just not good for the furniture and a major reason why we do not do outdoor shows. This will be our first time at Fredericksburg - we prefer the San Angelo Mesquite Festival/ Show because it is INSIDE at Fort Concho.

Texas Furniture Makers Show: Steve Walker & Lou Quallenberg

Lou is also trying to finish up his piece for the 11th Annual Texas Furniture Makers Show in Kerrville, Texas. That piece, a beautiful sculpted mesquite coffee table, needs to deliver on October 18th for the Show opening day October 21st. The Texas Furniture Makers Show is held at the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center and goes from Oct 21st until December 4th, 2010. The Eleventh Annual Texas Furniture Makers Show Awards Ceremony and Reception is on October 30th, where we will find out if this years piece is a Strazzanator. Lou coined the term because Frank Strazza of Homestead Heritage has a way with furniture making using only hand tools. His pieces are exquisite and each year Lou shoots to create a piece that will stand up to Frank's work and perhaps one day take home the Best in Show award.

"The Dancing Trees" will leave the Lou Quallenberg Studios workshop in Llano and take up residence in their beautiful new Chapel the end of October. I know Lou will have a hard time parting with these beautiful ladies. He always feels the loss when his pieces go to their new homes.

A New Look......

Lou Quallenberg Studios "NEW" look to attract more artistic, sculptural work (Photo from Dancing Trees)

We are currently rolling out a new look, designed we hope, to attract more artistic, sculptural work from our clients. We will have the new post cards at the shows and we have an ad that will hit the December Issue of Cowboys & Indians Magazine on newsstands the end of October. Cowboys & Indians Magazine is the magazine that included Lou Quallenberg in the article Woodworkers who've carved out reputations as some of the country's best craftsmen.) Also look for the new look on our website here: www.LouQart.com Let us know what you think.

Making Connections for Dancing Trees and in Life

2010-08-31T09:03:00.001-05:00

Lou Quallenberg with the rough cut mesquite slabs of his Dancing Trees

The Mesquite Screen Scaffold

As you can see Lou Quallenberg's latest project, the Dancing Trees are now up and standing. He achieved this feat with the help of a scaffold built specifically for that purpose.

All kinds of neat things have been created for this very special project. The one I wanted to talk about this month are the Connections, the special mesquite hardware pieces, Lou created that will connect the mesquite slabs to each other. There will be twelve of these beauties and each one will be sized and specially sculpted for it's specific location.

The Connections are created from solid chunks of squared 4"x4"x12-18" mesquite blocks that were cut into thin 1/8th inch slices. The slices were then organized into opposite grained sets for strength and taped together. Next they are glued together using S ystem Three epoxy. We use this more expensive epoxy because so far it is the strongest epoxy we have found on the market. Once glued up they are then clamped and left to dry for several days.

After the glued blocks are dry they are then trimmed and cut into blocks the specific size required. The blocks are very carefully measured for their spot and then sculpted using the band saw, spindle sander, grinders and sand paper to achieve the desired look. The different colors of the mesquite slices and the opposite grains give the Connection its striped variations. Lou thinks of them as mini tree limbs and each is a sculpted treasure.

Glued and Clamped Block

Mesquite Slices

Taped Set of Mesquite Slices

The groove is cut into the sculpted piece using a router and jig. The tongue for the Connection is made from maple and will be screwed into the slab opposite of the sculpted Connection. The tongue portion of the Connection will not be visible. Mesquite can be brittle and in order to ensure the durability of these Connections another hard wood was chosen. These will be long lasting Connections.

Mesquite Connector & Maple Tongue

Mesquite Connector and Block

Speaking of Connections I wanted to talk a bit about connections in business and the connections that weave throughout our lives. First I want to mention how important it is to connect and follow up with your clients according to Richard Koch in The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less using Pareto's Principle eighty percent of your business comes from twenty percent of your clients (it seems to be pretty much true for Lou Quallenberg Studios.) That twenty percent is important to your success!

Wet Mesquite Connection

Call them, email them follow up make that connection. You cannot fake the connection but if you honestly love what you are doing then you probably have formed some form of connection with that client. Nurture that connection! It's basic customer service and it seems to have gone by the wayside as more companies become corporate giants and lose the connection with their customers.

This new client came to us through a former client, obviously a satisfied former client. We connected regularly with this former client on facebook, via email and by phone.

We spend hours trying to learn and understand the best way to connect using social media and the internet. We tweet on twitter, post updates on facebook, link up on Linked In, blog on blogger all for the sake of connecting to our clients and prospective clients.

We try to keep a close and open connection with our Galleries (Artisans, Circle & Riverbend ) and other Representatives. Our open and sharing connection is truly enjoyed with our many artist friends. By helping out where we can we try to keep a community connection. We keep the family connection going by sharing shop space with Steve A. Walker and working Shawn A. Walker to the bone in his spare time, on top of regular family gatherings. Oh and we can't forget about our Pet Family connection (BTW Barney is now 7 months old and 110 lbs! He's a BIG puppy!)

We all make connections throughout our lives and I truly believe these connections are what life is really ALL about. Whether it is a connection with family, friends, customers, employees or a stranger in the parking lot the important thing is to make the connection!

A big thank you to Susan Britton Seyler for writing this recent article on Examiner.com
Mesquite Heirloom Furniture by Lou Quallenberg - National designer furniture | Examiner.com Award winning Mesquite Artist Lou Quallenberg creates sculpted live edge furniture in a contemporary style that reflects the flavor of the west.

Dancing Trees: A mesquite art project in the Texas Hill Country

2010-07-31T17:02:00.079-05:00

Last month I mentioned the fact that we had spent the last thirty days looking at hundred dollar bills and images of money in order to paint our entry in the Trail of Deer Community Art Project. (Bidding on the Bucks has now started check it out here: Llano's Trail of the Deer) I said that it had brought us good fortune but I failed to mention that we had been contacted by what we expect will be one of our largest clients/projects to date! So YES! Working on Big Bucks brought in some big bucks!!

Our new baby Barney

And its a good thing because the newest addition to our household is a 97 lb, six month old, English Mastiff puppy we fondly call Barney. He is on track to eat us out of house and home!! I am afraid he does not know his real size and this problem is only going to get worse as he grows into his 200 lb potential.

He has brought the puppy bounce into our lives and his bark reminds us to stop, take a break and play. We also have our hands full with housebreaking and socializing- every rug in the house has been out on the fence this past week.

While his addition to our life is a bit stressful we both have fallen in love and can't imagine a life without him. Welcome Barney!!!

Large Mesquite Slabs

This NEW PROJECT is one that Lou can really sink his artistic teeth into. It is a for private chapel in the Texas Hill Country and includes a huge mesquite slabbed screen to match the client designed, custom, curved window/wall, mesquite benches and lectern. Lou had been looking for some direction on his artistic path. I feel sure this project came into being to provide that direction for his creativity as well as his soul.

Lou Quallenberg with Mesquite Slab

The Mesquite slabs are pieces that Lou has been saving for "special" projects. They have been in the shop air drying for a few years, after their initial time kiln drying. The center slab he will use in this design is another sister slab to both Jackson and Jackson Sister which were both made into coffee tables and debuted together at the Western Design Conference in 2008. Jackson Sister also won the Best Texas Style Furniture Award at the Texas Furniture Makers Show® in Kerrville in 2008. So these Mesquite slabs have a great family tree!

Sketch Mesquite Screen

It almost always starts with a sketch. Lou Quallenberg has sketches and doodles all over his many work areas. They provide ideas as well as inspiration. When he begins a project he usually provides a sketch to the client just to be sure they are all on the same page. Most of his work ends up looking very much like the sketch. Somehow he seems to know in advance the many directions the pieces and wood will take him.

The size and scope of this project caused him to really want an accurate visualization, both for himself and the client. The actual slabs are very heavy and require extra hands to move them around. Even though the project is on a tight deadline, Lou really felt it called for a scale model mock up.

In order to do that we took photos of each slab chosen for the project. A 12 inch tape was placed on the slab so that all pieces could be accurately re-sized and scaled down. He then placed the photos onto small pieces of mesquite and cut each one out. He drew on some of the smaller cracks and holes in pencil. We ended up with what is much like a puzzle. He played around with the mini slabs until he found the right balance.

Model with seven Mesquite Slabs

Model with five Mesquite Slabs

As you can see in the photos, the design was changed from the original five slabs of mesquite to seven slabs of mesquite. This is why taking the time to make a scale model version for your client can really pay off. Lou was very happy with the design at five slabs but the client chose to add two more slabs and it really did make a difference visually.

In order to finish this new piece before the approaching October Deadline, we needed to temporarily expand the workspace. Lou found what he thought was a great deal on an outdoor Garage/Canopy at Sam's Wholesale. We had hoped the canopy would be multi-purpose and serve not only as temporary workspace but also as a possible Show Booth at the Texas Mesquite Art Festival in Fredericksburg. We have been considering doing this show even though it is an outdoor show.

The canopy is now installed and is definitely serving its purpose as 200 square feet of extra work space, but the set up and installation challenges will probably keep us from using it as a booth. Maybe it can become my greenhouse? The lesson we learned from this whole canopy experience is that Sam's does not always have the best price. We found the exact same canopy (according to the manufacturer King Canopy-see emails below) at Walmart for $199 and Sam's has it priced $219.74. So buyer beware always do your price checks before purchasing.

From: "Will Cowan"
Date: July 28, 2010 2:32:45 PM CDT
To:
Subject: RE: [Contact Us] Sams & Walmart Canopies

Hi Lou,

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you, we are running a backlog
on emails about 3-4 days long and are trying to catch up.

Yes, those are the same canopy. It is the BJ2PC (our model #). I am not sure
why Wal-Mart and Sam's have different prices, it might be for shipping
purposes that Sam's is $20 more, but I don't set their prices. Regardless,
they are still cheaper than what I could sell you them for.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Thank you,
King Canopy Customer Service

-----Original Message-----
From: info@kingcanopy.com [mailto:info@kingcanopy.com] On Behalf Of
info@LouQart.com
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2010 5:45 PM
To: info@kingcanopy.com
Subject: [Contact Us] Sams & Walmart Canopies

Lou Quallenberg sent a message using the contact form at
http://www.kingcanopy.com/contact.

These two Canopy's seem to be the same? Are they?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/King-Canopy-10-x-20-Universal-Enclosed-Canopy/1196 9438

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=131317&navAction=pus h

The canopy works well as extra outdoor space and the grinding has begun. Now cross your fingers that he will be able to get it done in time. I would prefer not to hear the call "All Hands on Deck!" I'm really not that good at sanding.

This project is one of the big reasons (a backlog on the schedule) we will be missing out on The Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole and Cody High Style (which Lou Quallenberg Studios was invited to for the first time) in Cody, Wyoming this year. We hope both Shows understand and will still consider us for their future shows. We enjoy our wonderful trips to Wyoming but it is a long haul. It takes huge effort to get Lou out of the shop and away from the wood.

FYI
Lou Quallenberg refers to the Mesquite Slab Screen piece as "Dancing Trees" and by the time he is finished I think these seven little ladies will all be singing as well.

©

Making Big Bucks!!

2010-06-30T12:09:00.003-05:00

I promise next month we will talk about Mesquite and Mesquite Furniture making. But for now it's all about making "BIG Bucks"......

Llano's Trail of the Deer herd was successfully unveiled Sunday, June 27th and Lou Quallenberg Studios contribution "Mr. Big Bucks" was finally, officially complete and off of our plate. You would think it would be a relief to have it off the schedule but I think, just as any artistic endeavor, once completed there is a feeling of loss or "Oh no now what?" They are our babies after all. Now we have our dining room back and our evenings are once again available for whatever or wherever the night leads us, but there is still that hole.

Our entry "Mr. Big Bucks" started out as a hundred dollar bill design, trying to play up the "Bucks" theme. I also thought it would not hurt us to be staring at hundred dollar bills for the next 30 days. The power of visualization is an awesome power that I have seen in action many times in my life. Some skeptics may call it a coincidence that the phone started ringing and opportunities began pouring in but I hafta disagree. I am SURE that working on this "free" community art project has been a rain maker for us. You should try it! Get an image of money and work on a fun project with it for 30 days and see what happens. It could change your life!!

The first layer of money green was applied with the help of my sweet sister Heather Martin and my nephew Matthew Martin. We would and could have done it without them, but it would not have been half as much fun. There was a great deal of surface to cover and the help was greatly appreciated. Matthew also helped some with the metallic gold antlers and eyes.

After the base coat was completed we let it air dry over Memorial Day weekend - while we were at the lake. We then moved him from the Lou Quallenberg Studios shop to the house so that I could work on him as I had the energy- sometimes late at night.

We originally thought we would airbrush the design but had to revert back to hand painting when Lou could not get the paints to work with the airbrush. With only thirty days total to complete the project and the air brush idea out, we decided to go "old school". Lou painted Harley choppers in the 70's so we fell back on his taping skills. Let me just say Lou Quallenberg is amazing with tape! There were multiple layers of tape to get all the lines in their proper places. Taping is an art in and of itself. The tape was great for all the lines but we could not really tape Ben Franklin off.

While at the lake my brother Shawn Walker cut a stencil of Ben Franklin using an enlarged version of an image of a hundred dollar bill that I created on the computer. Unfortunately since we were at the lake for Memorial Day weekend we did not realize that the large size and sculpted curves in the deer form would not work well together. So onto Plan B or is that C now? We decided to reduce the size of the bill. This meant much more work for less coverage and perhaps less bang for our "buck"?

So I used the stencil Shawn made to make a painted print on paper, which I scanned into the computer and re sized to create smaller stencils. The first large stencil was cut out of contact paper, the smaller stencils were cut out of vellum because it was easier for me to cut them out with the x-acto knife. More stencils were required because the vellum was less durable than the contact paper and we had reduced the size of the bill meaning more Ben's were required.

We began to run out of time and energy so the 100's were added to the four corners of the bills. At this point we decided the look was close enough to get the point across and we moved on to adding dollar signs using stencils of different sizes. Each dollar sign was drawn with pencil and then hand painted. The process was time consuming and ran us late into the night. I decided to pull out the glow-in-the-dark paint and painted his ears and spots on the grass. So YES! He does glow in the dark.

Sister Heather came to the rescue Saturday along with my teenage niece Taylor Martin. Shawn also came in from Austin to lend a helping hand. They all kept working on hand painting the dollar signs, while I began the Pyramid under the right eye. Lou came in behind me taping the bricks and painting them in. We both worked on the eyelashes or glow around the eye.

It was Sunday morning early on Father's Day and "Mr. Big Bucks" was due at T Paint and Body for his urethane gloss coat on Monday. We both looked at each other and decided he was DONE. We spent the day with my Dad, away from the many shades of green paint and our totally wrecked dining room/paint studio.

"Mr. Big Bucks" is currently grazing in front of Llano National Bank on Ford Street in Llano for the next month or so. "Mr. Big Bucks" and the rest of the herd are available for purchase through an online, auction-style bidding process that ends February 2011. For details check with Robin Chiesa 325/247-4963 at Circle on the square Art Gallery in Llano. ALL of the money goes to charity and the continuation of the Trail of the Deer Community Art Project. If "Mr. Big Bucks" brings his owner/purchaser as much good fortune as he has brought us then he is really worth his weight in gold!!!

Mesquite takes a back seat

2010-05-28T18:37:00.003-05:00

Just for now mesquite is taking a back seat on the blog. Our life right now is pretty busy with the Llano Trail of the Deer Community Art Project. Seven, life sized white tailed deer sculptures made their way to Llano on May 25th. The project is similar to the The Trail of the Painted Ponies, Cow Parade, Big Boots, and Guitar Town in Austin.

The deer are now living with their selected artists who are hopefully working hard at making them each works of art.

Artists include:

Russell Baros   "Daddy WAR Bucks"
Ira Kennedy "Star Buck"

Janet Mason "Tex"
Lou Quallenberg & Cheryl Quallenberg "Mr. Big"
Gin Schwope   "TBA"
Llano Art Guild "TBA"
Artist TBA   "Buck Naked"

Lou Quallenberg Studios has committed to creating one of these babies in a collaborative partnership of Quallenberg & Quallenberg. It will work fine as long as Lou realizes I am the boss - or maybe just bossy (I'm pretty sure he knows that already though.)

We will not be using mesquite for this project, but who knows maybe next year we will try out a new way to use mesquite on the ever evolving Trail of the Deer Community Art Project. The painted deer herd will be making their debut the last weekend of June. Then you can expect to see them at most of the events in Llano or Hunt them down using the online map. One deer, we are calling him "Buck Naked", has been left unpainted. He may show up at local events and be set up to fire paint balls at for a few "Bucks". He will eventually be used as a special commissioned art piece.

We plan to have a Trail of the Deer Coloring Contest for the Schools (Elementary, Jr. High, and High School) in the Fall. We are also looking in to getting table top size deer so more folks can make their own deer. It is all about getting people interested in ART (and attracting tourists to Llano, Texas.) But all of this takes "Bucks" so please consider helping out with a Donation or Sponsorship.

These wonderful folks have already helped get this project of the ground.

Colonel Crow's Trading Post

The Dabbs Hotel
Enchanted Rocks& Jewelry
Executive Growth Sam Jones
Frosty Miller Ranch Realty
Llano Economic Development Corporation
Milagro Massage
Nailhead Spur Company
One Trick Pony/ Tres Rios Silver
Morrison & Mary Smith

The "Dressed" Deer will all be auctioned off in the spring and all the "Bucks" raised will go to create an art scholarship, local charity and to help kick start next years "Trail of the Deer Community Art Project." (We are hoping for 12 Deer next year!!!)

None of this would have happened if Robin Chiesa had not put it all on the line and gone for it. She is an amazing woman, full of enough energy to do the work of a committee. Thank you Robin!!

You can read more about our Community Art Project here in the Llano County Journal or here in the Llano News.

Well as many of you know our sweet Louie did not recover last month so we have been grieving the loss of him from our lives. Louie spent much of his time with Lou at the shop so it has been much harder on him losing his buddy. We were not blessed with children so our furry family members help to fill that spot for us. To have that spot emptied in an already fairly quiet home has been very hard on both of us. The house is quieter now, VERY quiet. I wrote this one night several months ago when I could not sleep due to the sound effects, in stereo, from Lou and Louie.

I sleep in a room with two large beasts
my ears suffering a ravenous feast.

A high pitch here
A low rumble there
Strange noises that fill the air.

I sleep in a room with two large beasts
hoping the noise will NEVER cease.
CW Quallenberg 2010

We really miss those sounds and all the sleepless nights it caused. (Watch the video below for a sample)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zgf2wieHqE

Why Dogue de bordeaux / French Mastiffs? We have been asked why we stick with a breed that has an average lifespan of 5.29 years. It is a good question especially since we usually miss out on the sweet puppy stage. Maybe it is that wrinkled scrunchy face, the gentle slobbery nuzzles, the largest head in dogdom, the laid back attitude mixed with a fierce protective mode that most strangers would not challenge, or memories of the movie Turner & Hooch. More than likely it is in memory of the two sweet souls we have already rescued and loved and cannot imagine not having had in our lives. When we are ready we will open our hearts and home to another one of these sweet big headed creatures. Until then we mourn the loss and miss the wiggle. We just are not ready yet......

Reflections of Spring in the Texas Hill Country

2010-04-30T20:56:00.003-05:00

This has been an amazing year for Texas Bluebonnets and Wildflowers especially here in the Texas Hill Country! They have been bursting over the edges of the roadsides and are taller than I can ever in my forty plus years remember. (We tried to celebrate my 44 and his 54 years this month, but were so worried over our sweet Louie who we nearly lost to a serious kidney problem. He has dropped alot of weight but we think he is out of the woods now.)

This year we have taken a few moments here and there to stop and smell the bluebonnets. Yes, they do actually have a scent! When they are in mass abundance they give off a light, sweet fragrance that reminds me of my childhood, Hill Country Spring and winding Texas back roads. The smell of Texas Bluebonnets and Texas Mountain Laurel are both such delicate fragrances that require long term memory storage because they happen only briefly once a year and most years are barely noticeable to the undiscerning, unconscious nose.

Capturing the oceans, lakes and ribbons of blue flowers on film (or pixels) is not an easy task although many do attempt it. Lou's Bluebonnet in a Mesquite Frame (shown here) is popular with the many Wildflower hunters.

This year the tourists, photographers both professional and amateur, and spring breakers descended on the Texas Hill Country like a swarm of bees. Don't get me wrong we appreciate the boost to the economy, I just wonder if we should stop them at the county line with a list of rules or warnings.

Something like:
No matter how great the photo-op do not stop and/or park in the middle of a highway.

If the speed limit is 70 mph then driving 35 mph is hazardous to your health.

Remember that Bluebonnet/Wildflower Season is the same as Rattlesnake Season, look and listen before you step.

Fire ants live under Bluebonnets/Wildflowers look before plopping your baby or child in that patch of pretty flowers.

Do you really need a sign to tell you that you are trespassing?

The Ross Bedside-End Table was picked up this month. They had a busy spring schedule including a trip to Santa Fe that kept them from picking it up sooner. This sweet little table was designed to fit a very small space between the bed and wall with enough room to have a small drawer. It has Lou's signature, floating, sculpted, live edge top and shelf, and curved legs. The deer antler drawer pull matches their other piece.

We know the clients were happy to add it to their collection. The weekend they picked it up they caught the tail end of the Bluebonnets and managed to catch the State Championship Goat Cook-off in Golthwaite. We had such a nice visit at the shop, then lunch at the Acme Cafe and a quick look at Circle on the square Gallery.

Speaking of Circle on the square we are proud to announce that we were chosen as one of six artists to participate in Llano's Trail of the Deer Community Art Project. This will be a collaborative, partnership effort on both our parts. We will be painting one of the life sized White Tailed Deer sculptures scheduled to arrive in Llano, Texas the week of May17th. The artists will have 30 days to complete their Deer. The Painted Deer will be placed around town in various revolving locations, attending local parades and events and then auctioned off at the end of the project. We are excited and honored to be a part of this Community Art Project that promotes both the Arts and Tourism in the Texas Hill Country.

Lou has designed and created several new mesquite mirrors with turquoise inlay which can be seen and purchased at one of our gallery representatives:

Artisans at Rocky Hill in Fredericksburg

Circle on the square in Llano

Riverbend Fine Art in Marble Falls

or custom ordered through one of the Gallery's and/or directly through the website. We do require that you let us know how you found out about us so that we can compensate our representatives properly. They work hard to get the word out about Lou's mesquite furniture and art and we want to be sure they are taken care of.

Lou really likes to design and create mirrors and I wonder if it might have something to do with the fact that mirrors offer the viewer a reflection. I think sometimes we see our physical selves as the image reflected back in a mirror, sometimes we see our souls in the image reflected back, and sometimes if we are lucky and look deeply we see the connection to others in ourselves reflected back.

Perhaps making mesquite mirrors is Lou's way of spreading light?

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
Edith Wharton

To me he is both candle and mirror.....

Spring has sprung (according to the mesquite trees)

2010-03-31T21:13:00.003-05:00

As Spring finally springs into place and relieves us from the cold dreary nuisance of winter (Yes! It is official our mesquite tree has finally budded out-so spring has sprung here in Llano, Texas!) we are reminded once again that as Lou's birthday (April 14th) rolls around, TAXES ARE DUE! Yep that's right folks if you own your own business you gotta pay taxes. Okay, okay we know you pay taxes when you work for someone else, but they usually deduct it from your pay check and you also probably have a much simpler form to fill out - I did say probably. So that heap of paperwork and pile of receipts and invoices that has been taking up space on the dining room table is going away. Yipee!! I will be glad to have the space back so I can fill it up with something else.

BTW did you know that Al Capone listed "Furniture Dealer" as his occupation on his business cards? Well known for his corruption and criminal activity as a Chicago gangster during prohibition (one of the most notorious criminals of the 20th Century) he was finally put in prison by the IRS for Tax Evasion of all things! So the moral of the story is pay your taxes.

We are proud to announce our new partnership with Riverbend Fine Art Gallery in Marble Falls, Texas. Marta Stafford spent an afternoon at the shop learning about Lou and his process of mesquite furniture making and we were so very impressed with her enthusiasm, knowledge and genuine warmth. We feel like it is a good fit and look forward to working with her and Lori both. We posted photos of the delivery on our Facebook account so be sure to check it out if you haven't already. The Mesquite Cody table is sitting in front of "Gentle Spring" a painting by Milbe Benge and it almost looks like it is the river flowing out of the painting. If you come to visit us be sure to plan to take a trip to Riverbend Fine Art Gallery as well. The drive is spectacular and currently splashed with bluebonnets and wildflowers. We feel so fortunate to live in the Texas Hill Country!

We were so honored to receive an official invitation to exhibit at Cody High Style this year. We have heard such great things about this new show in Cody,Wyoming and have had success first in Cody, Wyoming and then in Jackson Hole, Wyoming at the Western Design Conference in year's past. The photos above are from the 2006, 2008 and 2009 Western Design Conferences and show entry pieces. This year due to family obligations and a focus on our current client base we will not be going up that way. We do hope that the folks at Cody High Style will consider us again in the future. It has been such a wonderful escape each year to head for the mountains and cooler weather, we also really enjoy meeting and visiting with all the extraordinary artists that gather at these shows. The problem is it is a long haul (1,400 miles) from Texas to Wyoming and the time spent away from the shop can really start to add up. We are a one horse operation here which unfortunately makes it very difficult to take time away. When Lou's birthday rolls around, he begins to realize that he will not have enough time in this life to make all the wild and crazy things he has stored up in his head. Maybe it would help if Allison at the Western Design Conference and the Gang at Cody High Style would consider changing their application deadlines to March or May?

IF YOU WERE LOOKING FOR THE NEXT VIDEO IT IS COMING SOON. I PROMISE WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN OR GIVEN UP.

It's all about CURVES baby

2010-02-28T21:12:00.002-06:00

In case you had not noticed, Lou Quallenberg’s work is all based on curves. The natural curves found in the mesquite wood, the curves of the female body form that inspire him and the curves and angles found in the 1959 Cadillac Coupe De Ville that continues to influence his work. Jim Brandvik an artist friend, AKA “The Original Horseshoe Engraver” pointed out that Lou had used the line of beauty on his Mesquite Partners Desk. Upon further inspection we found the “Line of Beauty” in almost every single curve on that desk. It was hiding in plain sight in Lou’s signature bow tie, where he uses it in both the length and width of that design. If you take the time to look you will find it there hidden in most of his pieces. This line of beauty knowledge must have sunk into his unconscious mind because it took Jim’s artist eye to spot it and point it out before we even realized that Lou was using it. He may have learned it many years ago in an art class or from a book on art. The “Line of Beauty” is also known as Hogarth’s curve or a “lazy S” design. The Hogarth curve is one of the more common designs taught in floral design, which in case you did not know is a part of my educational background. The Central Market/ (for HEB) Floral Department being one of my favorite little creations.

I cannot let the February posting of this blog go without mention of my usual but unusual Valentine’s Day gifts from Lou (yeah it’s an enigma - just like him.) It is ALWAYS some type of heart and with his plunge into custom mesquite furniture making, my most recent hearts have been crafted from mesquite. Lou’s hearts are not the standard, symmetrical, valentine style heart’s that we all learned to draw in elementary school. His hearts have curves (of course.) It is always a surprise and I never know what to expect. I have received small palm sized smooth hearts, a standing heart with copper flames, and this year the heart was copper embedded inside of a large mesquite hinged card, complete with it’s own thin mesquite envelope/sleeve!

We have recently joined in partnership with a new Gallery that is set to open in Llano, Texas the first few weeks in March. The gallery “Circle on the square” is owned and operated by the very lovely and talented Robin Chiesa. We wish her tons of success!! The Gallery Logo and website (still under construction) were both conceptualized, developed and created by yours truly - Lou Quallenberg Studios! We still do logos, brochures and branding as well as commercial Photography. Lou’s Mesquite Furniture and Photography will be featured at the Gallery along with artwork by the following Hill Country artist’s: Russell Baros, Danielle Carmichael, Robin Chiesa, Jane Lynch, and Sheri Zoch.

A big THANK YOU goes out to everyone that watched the YouTube first video we created last month. As of this posting it has been watched 250 times (with 249 of those being me- just kidding!) Thank you for forwarding it to your friends, family and other folks you thought might have interest. Please do not hold it against us that Video #2 is not quite ready for viewing. What can I say? February is a short month and 2-3 days to a procrastinator is a huge amount of time. On top of that we are perfectionists and well hey it’s just not perfect yet!! We will post it when it is ready, even if it’s not perfect. I know you can't wait but please bear with us and stay tuned!!

Taking a Break & Making Mesquite Video #1 (Hey that was FUN!!)

2010-01-31T20:56:00.002-06:00

This year is off to a truly wonderful start. We delivered the Mesquite Media Chest up to the Dallas area ourselves. It was a great break from the shop and a wonderful adventure into the big city. Trust me anything is BIG when you live in Llano, Texas! On our way both up and back we had to stop in Hico at the Koffee Kup first for their famous Burger and then of course the Pie!!! We were surprised to find our sweet friend Jasmine, who is originally from Llano, waitressing there. We were relieved that our clients were so happy with their new piece. They wined and dined us, convinced us to stay an extra night, gave us museum passes and then went and ordered another piece!!

It's been a long time, if ever we had the luxury of going to three wonderful museums in the same day. If you get a chance we recommend them all: The Modern Art Museum of Ft Worth, Kimbell Art Museum and Amon Carter Museum. We got to see Michelangelo's first painting at The Kimbell. He did it when he was twelve or thirteen and it was a true masterpiece!! If that had been the only piece we saw it would have been worth it. We were so fortunate to also see several of our favorites: Van Gogh, Monet, Pissarro, Picasso, Georgia O'Keeffe and even a few early Jackson Pollock pieces. Before we left Llano I had secretly hoped to make the Cowgirl Hall of Fame but the Ft. Worth Livestock Show was going on making that area a bit more crazy than usual. Honestly we just did not have the time to fit it in. Maybe next time?

Well we did it!! We actually produced and uploaded our first instructional video. Check it out on youTube
It was a learning curve and while it is certainly not perfect we can proudly say "WE DID IT!" It was fun and we hope you will take a look, leave comments, rate it and share it with your friends and/or anyone you think might like it. Be sure you catch the out takes at the end. We are open to any ideas and suggestions you might have for future videos.

Our upcoming videos will contain information like:

How we make our Laminated Curves

How we create our Signature Butterfly/ Bow Tie

How we Slice our Wood

Loading the Kiln and the Importance of using Dry Wood.

How we Inlay Turquoise

and many more (well at least 12 total if we do one a month!)