Birdseye – Fine Furniture by Brent Rourke & The Barn

BMG is pleased to present Birdseye.
An exhibition of fine woodwork by Cabinetmaker Brent Rourke and his team from The Barn in Bloomfield .

Birdseye’s rare properties make it a unique and beautiful wood. This is the catalyst that is the medium for Brent’s new work.

Bird’s eye is a type of figure that occurs within several kinds of wood, most notably in hard maple. It has a distinctive pattern that resembles tiny, swirling eyes disrupting the smooth lines of grain. It is somewhat reminiscent of a burl, but it is quite different: the small knots that make the burl are missing.

It is not known what causes the phenomenon. Research into the cultivation of bird’s eye maple has so far discounted the theories that it is caused by pecking birds deforming the wood grain or that an infecting fungus makes it twist. However, no one has demonstrated a complete understanding of any combination of climate, soil, tree variety, insects, viruses or genetic mutation that may produce the effect.

Buckland Merrifield Gallery. 

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