I didn ’ t know how to make and sort of evolved from there ,” Rolland said .
He has since crafted tables , entertainment centers , dressers , doors , rocking chairs , wooden vases , and other kinds of furniture . He started in Taos , New Mexico and is currently working in Port Townsend , Washington . He strives to make furniture that is clean-lined , animated , friendly , fun and thought-provoking .
Some of the pieces that were turning points for him include an Oxeye Hall Table , which involved a curve-cutting method he has been working with and was one of the first successful designs in a series . He added that the idea for it started with bookends and vases that were then scaled up into furniture .
Another piece he is proud of is the North Beach Hall Table , which is part of a series that combined wood and stone , utilizing the stone as an integral part of the table rather than just using it for aesthetic purposes .
“ I had been wanting to combine the two materials ; I really liked natural stone and I didn ’ t want to polish it or cut it or do anything to it , but I liked the mixture of wood and stone ,” Rolland said . “ I didn ’ t want it just there as an ornament , but I wanted the stone to also be functional , and so I used it to balance the cantilever on that table so the table would stand up but would be very unstable without the rock .”
When he is not in his woodshop , he ’ s usually out in nature , whether it be hiking , camping or sailing . It ’ s within nature he finds tranquility and inspiration .
His work is inspired by the natural form of trees and erosion of rocks because they all reflect “ the forms of a material responding to outside forces .” He described how trees respond to gravity and wind , and rocks are formed by the ocean or weathered by wind , rain , ice , and other forces .
“ I like to spend a lot of time outdoors and I feel like I absorb lots and lots of influences ,
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