A marquetry Class for beginners

Beginner’s Marquetry Class

Everyone had a great time on the recent beginner’s marquetry class – seven novice ‘marqueteers’ came to the workshop to have a go at making their first marquetry panel.

The class started out with a short chat about the basics of marquetry and veneering and then we quickly progressed to cutting our first shapes.  We used a magnetic straight-line jig to cut parallel lines of different coloured veneers and then stitched and glued them together to create our first shape.

Once we had positioned this on our backing veneer, we went on to cut out other shapes using templates and a scalpel – each class member designed their own panel and selected which shapes to use to create a unique piece of work.  By cutting around the templates for both the positive and negative elements of the shape, you can create fascinating and vibrant designs - it’s a considered and careful process but very rewarding once you’ve got the hang of it!

We also added some thin straight and tapered lines to the design to link the shapes together, this is almost a ‘freehand’ process that lets you produce a spontaneous design.

The day was punctuated with breaks for tea, coffee and biscuits and a picnic style lunch at 12.30.  Everyone finished their panel by 5.30, completing it with a saw-tooth hanger on the back and a quick coat of oil to bring out the colours in the veneers. 

My thanks to everyone who attended the class – have a look at the marquetry class page here for more information if you’re interested in doing something similar!

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Hand Dyed Veneers for Wood