Traditionals by Roger Ellison

10/23/2026

The project I began in late July at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship is now finished and ready to be delivered Monday morning early to the Texas Furniture Makers Show in Kerrville for a statewide competition. It has been quite the challenge - a beast at times - and I am so happy to arrive at this point of completion. Fortunately, it was also a lot of fun , providing me a significant exposure to veneering and curvature. Some of the veneers were commercial; all of the oak veneers I made myself. I am so appreciative of all the help given from design through completion.

Some of the photos show technique and process; the last photo is a detailed description of the entire project.

Professional photos to be posted as soon as they are available.

10/17/2026

It has been two months since I left the Advanced Furniture Studio at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. I arrived home with an incomplete project from the course and several huge deadlines staring me in the face. I got all of them out of the way and am now focused on finishing the contemporary coffee/cocktail table I started in Maine. I'm calling it Enlightened. The understructure of it is complex, following the curves of the tabletops which will sit atop it.

I've done lots of touch up sanding, leveling of the eight legs, and preparing it for the first coat of finish. The first picture shows it on its side, revealing the curves and some of the complexity. The second picture shows it in a fuming tent, where the white oak is exposed for 24 hours to the fumes of industrial grade ammonia, causing the tannins in the oak to react by developing a warm, soft, and darkened patina. If you compare the coloration of the oak in the first picture with that in the third picture, you can tell the significant difference. The last picture shows the base upside down with the first coat of hand rubbed Waterlox applied. Sunday I'll apply another coat and the base will be done. The coloration is going to go very well with the tabletops!

Next week I'll attach the five tabletops, hand-rub some additional Waterlox, and get it ready for delivery to the Texas Furniture Makers Show in Kerrville. It will be on display and for sale at that completion until December 12. I'm hoping I don't get to bring it home!

I'll post additional pictures this coming week.

10/09/2026

The second weekend of October is here! I’m set up and ready to roll. Come see us and adopt some of my creations and some of the other beautiful work of fifty something very talented artists! Marketplatz in downtown Fredericksburg Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

09/22/2026

This is my one big show of the year; I love the art, the reunion with artists and customers, and the chance to visit with folks about what I do. I even take commissions! Do come.

Plan your visit to the Texas Mesquite & Fine Art Spectacular.
Join us throughout the weekend to explore handcrafted mesquite creations, fine art, and artisan-made treasures.

🗓 Friday, October 9 | 12pm–6pm
🗓 Saturday, October 10 | 10am–6pm
🗓 Sunday, October 11 | 10am–3pm
📍Marktplatz, Fredericksburg, Texas
🌐 www.texasspectacular.com

09/16/2026

This is such a great show - primarily a market for fine art and fine craft, but also a great reunion of artists and clients. New customers are especially welcome!

Art lovers, this is for you.
Explore fine art, handcrafted creations, and one-of-a-kind treasures from talented artists and makers.

📅 Oct 9-11, 2026
📍 Marktplatz, Fredericksburg, Texas
🌐 www.texasspectacular.com

09/09/2026

I'm looking forward to the Texas Mesquite & Fine Art Spectacular in Fredericksburg the Friday, Saturday, Sunday second weekend of October. I'll have a few spectacular pieces of furniture, lots of "Beautiful Scraps" charcuterie/cutting boards (including a few huge "Bubba Boards" for the barbecuer), and a few more little surprises. This is a delightful show featuring a very diverse variety of art and fine craft, as well as a great time to start the discussion of that unique, made by hand piece of furniture you want for your home. I'll be booking commissions for delivery in 2027 and 2028.

See the craftsmanship of Traditionals by Roger Ellison at the Texas Mesquite & Fine Art Spectacular. Explore handcrafted woodwork that reflects timeless tradition.

🗓 Friday, October 9 | 12pm–6pm
🗓 Saturday, October 10 | 10am–6pm
🗓 Sunday, October 11 | 10am–3pm
📍Marktplatz, Fredericksburg, Texas

08/05/2026

My project at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine:

Two years ago up here, I built the exemplar for a six table, limited edition series coffee table called Texana. It was built for the Texas Furniture Makers Show where it won an award, some $, and sold for $7000. At home, I am about to start a commission for #4. The first picture is the first in that series, each unique according to the client's choice of Texas woods.

This project is a significant variation in that almost all the lines are curved - the five table tops have curved edges, the understructure has to follow those curves, and the joinery is exceedingly complex. Additionally, almost all the exposed surfaces are covered with commercial and shop made veneers. The two upper surfaces will be a spectacular black and white royal ebony; the two lower surfaces will be fumed eucalyptus, and the small center surface it to be determined in the next few days. All the structural members except the legs (which are solid oak) are clad with oak veneers I made here.

The understructure will be fumed, placed in an airtight container exposed to commercial (very strong) ammonia fumes for about 24-36 hours, making the wood darker than normal. Up until now, the work has been building jigs, making veneers, cutting components, vacuum bag and furniture clamps gluing. Tomorrow the very difficult joinery begins.

This table is destined for the Texas Furniture Makers Show late October through early December in Kerrville, to be entered in the contemporary furniture category. Right now I have no idea how it will be priced. Ha!

08/05/2026

At the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, we are a very busy bunch, with lots of progress being made on very different stages of very different projects. Some are huge; some not so. I'm not sure what some of them are, but the attention to detail, the complexity of construction, and the hard work are impressive.

Notice in one picture a very rough cardboard and blue painter's tape prototype while in the foreground is a plywood model. As I left this evening, the cherry was being glued up into panels for the real chair. Complex projects often require thorough study and this artist is doing so impressively.

Today I saw complex work being done with a very technologically advanced Shaper router and an old fashioned rasp, spokeshave, and card scraper being used to shape a restaurant welcome and pay desk. What a contrast!

Tomorrow, my post will focus on the work I've done thus far on my project, a very complex coffee table. It won't look like a table yet, but it is definitely headed in that direction!

08/02/2026

Saturday was a hit or miss day for much of the class. Instructors are off for the weekend, we have 24/7 access to the Workshop (as our building is known), so a number of us were in and out and back in, then out again, throughout the day. I opened up at 7:30 AM, stayed the entire day, got a lot done, and closed up at a little after 8 PM. Lots of my classmates have turned the corner from design to construction. In some cases the building is primarily focused on prototypes of relatively cheap poplar or manufactured materials. For relatively complex projects with a yet to be proven design concept, this is common and very sensible. A few of us are already building components of the "good" wood.

If all goes well, I'll post pictures Monday showing a lot more of what is being accomplished. These pictures are several days back and so many have moved far beyond where they were back then.

Very soon, I'll also post pictures and details about what I am building. I've got stacks of components, jigs for this and that, vacuum bags full of my glue ups, and today I probably had four dozen clamps at work! Soon things will start to come together and make sense.

07/31/2026

It’s coming up soon! Plan on coming to Fredericksburg the second weekend of October.

Experience the artistry of Gerald Tobola Copper Artist at the Texas Mesquite & Fine Art Spectacular. Discover handcrafted copper creations that blend artistry and craftsmanship.
🗓 Friday, October 9 | 12pm–6pm
🗓 Saturday, October 10 | 10am–6pm
🗓 Sunday, October 11 | 10am–3pm
📍Marktplatz, Fredericksburg, Texas