TAMMY JUDD
Seward furniture maker Lael Ki Gordon has been named among 13 recipients of a 2014 Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Project Awards.
Gordon has won $3,440, which he will use to buy equipment.
“You have to be specific about what you’re going to spend the money on since it’s a project award,” Gordon said.
While attending the Inside Passage School of Fine Woodworking in Robert’s Creek, B.C., he created a cabinet using a veneering technique called prismatic parquet.


The technique is a combination of what he’d learned with something he invented.
He wanted to continue exploring the process, but after finishing school he did not have access to the necessary tools and equipment anymore.
Gordon applied for the grant in August but put it out of his mind knowing that the Rasmuson awards are competitive. It was the third time he had applied. The first time he applied to help fund his schooling, but he didn’t get it.
Gordon almost didn’t apply for the grant this time.
“It is a pretty big process. You submit a resume, portfolio and a project description, a budget, and artist statement. It takes some time but at the same time I’m very aware it’s a long shot.
“I certainly didn’t expect to win. It’s a good feeling though.” Gordon said.
The 30-year-old furniture maker said he enjoys playing with the way light refracts off the surface of the wood.
“It’s not something you see a lot of anymore.”
Once he gets his equipment and workshop set up, he plans to construction several large-scale prismatic parquetry cabinets.
Gordon was featured in the November-December issue of “Fine Woodworking” magazine, a national publication (“Skilled artisan appears in ‘Fine Woodworking,'” The Seward Phoenix Log, Nov. 1).
The list of Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Project Award winners is online at > http://www.rasmuson.org/ .
Tammy Judd can be reached at (907) 348-2428 or toll free at (800) 770-9830, ext. 428.