Our original plan for this piece was actually to make a pair of lamps, cut from a single piece of walnut so that they could be nested back together again when completed.  In the original slab, we cut a deeply grooved and curvy central line.  We then flipped the two halves over so that the flat sides were flush, and designed a cut line that would allow the two lamps to be placed ‘back to back’ and still be decorative.  With these two mirror image pieces prepared, we cut the amoeba-shaped openings in each and then cut each ‘lamp’ in half to create two identical pieces.  The plan was to fill the amoeba openings with stained glass on both sides and run a string of LED lights through each opening and down to the bottom of the lamp, after which we would glue the two pieces of each lamp back together, sealing the glass pieces inside.  But once we had each lamp cut into halves and were selecting the glass, we discovered that what we really liked was the idea of uniting all four pieces into a single ‘deconstructed’ lamp-like sculpture placed upon a walnut pedestal.  So we went with it!

 

The four sides were affixed to the base with hidden dowels in a way that highlights the overlapping and complimentary contours of the pieces.  This open structure creates an accent lamp that offers both color-filtered light and white light simultaneously, depending on the angle of view, and we cut openings in the pedestal (for the cord) to allow the lamp to be displayed with any side facing forward.  

 

The walnut was finished in a hand rubbed oil and urethane finish.