My Process of Creating
My creative process begins with a spontaneous thought or a moment of external inspiration. Alongside the initial idea, I often imagine a deeper intention—something the object should convey beyond its physical form.
I designed my coasters, cutting board, and serving platter to create the appearance of randomly arranged pieces of solid wood. This was accomplished through a time-consuming, iterative process: cut, rearrange, re-glue, repeat.
The bottom row of photos (click to enlarge) illustrates the progression—from the initial lumber (bottom left) through five somewhat distinct coaster styles.
After completing the coasters, I realized I had a collection of intermediate components and offcuts left in my shop. Look at the parallelogram structure in the center of the bottom row; you can see how I used these pieces to create my cutting board.
I then discovered I still had many early-stage pieces left from the coaster project. The top sequence of seven photos documents how I reprocessed those fragments into a serving platter.
A photograph of the serving platter was submitted to Fine Woodworking and has been tentatively accepted for publication.
Hayward Zwerling
Making the Coasters, Cutting Board, and Serving Platter
