Dynamic patterns in wood

The word ‘chatoyance’ may be unfamiliar but if you’ve ever admired a lustrous piece of figured wood, like fiddle-back mahogany, you know what it is. The word comes from French for ‘shining like a cat’s eye.’ It is a property of some woods where areas of light and dark grain shift and change position depending on the angle of view. I use this distinctive quality to create contrasting patterns without using contrasting woods. Rather, I produce the contrast by carefully controlling the chatoyant properties of a single species; the resulting pattern is not only contrasting but also dynamic—it shifts from positive to negative as the viewing angle or the light source changes—and at some perspectives the pattern may barely be visible.This gives a cabinet remarkable life and character; appearing slightly different every time it is seen.