Sarcophagus+Cabinet+No+1

Date: 1999
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/2000/2000.14_1a.jpg?itok=D16mhtS- width="333" height="284" link="@https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/sarcophagus-cabinet-1-44245"]] || Title: **Sarcophagus Cabinet #1**

Artist: **Charles Radtke** Born: Hermann, Missouri 1964

Medium: mahogany, sassafras, and brass Dimensions: 44 x 18 x 30 in. (111.8 x 45.7 x 76.2 cm) Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of John and Robyn Horn

Accession: 2000.14 || When I start a new piece, there are some givens and plenty of unknowns. The givens are that I will make something of lasting integrity, that is how it is made. The joints will be real, all connections and structure elements are based in a time-honored tradition of fine joining. My "designs" in turn reflect that given. The unknown aspect of what I do, is how I will blend the knowledge of wood, and it's changing properties, into a cohesive, pleasantly proportioned object. This part is a bit more unquantifiable, how this all unfolds. Grain patterns are considered, the weight of the color in each of the species, how each species take certain shapes, all this has an effect on the final outcome of the object. It is not something that can be sketched prior to making; through making I am sketching, sketching with the wood, and the various machines and handplanes that I have at my disposal.
 * How objects are made: **

I do not start with a pencil sketch, certainly not one that is "to scale". I may, at times, doodle a detail down, just to see how its elements relate to the overall feel I am trying to achieve. Something gets lost in trying to have the whole object figured out prior to building. Part of the journey of building is that unknown, how it is going to end. It is that mystery that keeps my focus on the piece, and the subsequent elements.

I work alone, one piece at a time. The choice of working alone has developed out of trying it the other way, which I have found to be less effective with this type of work. This is personal work, and not knowing where it is headed, it makes it difficult to orchestrate in a group setting. That is how production work is made, and it is suited for multiple hearts and hands to execute, but one of a kind work isn't. Something has always lacked in the pieces made with others involved. That is not to say they were bad pieces, or failed in any way, I just feel that they could have been more.
 * How the artist works: **

Because the mechanics are important to me, that too influences my work ethic. Knowing which elements need special attention in order to achieve the level of precision of a well-fit door or drawer, I make certain that these elements get the attention they deserve. Because I prefer to make cabinets, which have many moving parts, I focus on detail work. Well executed detail work is not fast work by any means, and is the reason I make about 9 pieces in a years time. Having said that, I don't think that is the supreme reason for someone to place any value on my work. To reduce it to being "well made" objects is not enough for me. Any craftsman can execute well-made work, if given the freedom to take the time. It is a bit more involved than that for me. Shaker, Arts and Crafts movement, Korean, Japanese, all these "styles" had well executed designs, with wonderful construction methods. Yet I am not content in duplicating what has come before me. I appreciate it, yes, and it influences me, but there is no desire to mimic it; rather I would like to participate in it's natural progression, to find my own way, while respecting what and who came before me.

My studio is behind my home (which I share with my wife, Chris, and daughter Chloe) in a small historic town, Cedarburg, in Wisconsin. The town is about 20 miles north of Milwaukee, beyond suburbia. My studio, which I built myself, is situated along Cedar Creek, overlooking the old part of downtown Cedarburg. There are various artists that live in this community (painters, sculptors, writers, photographers, blacksmiths, musicians, builders), and that adds to the charm of working here. There is comfort in knowing others are carving out a living doing what they are passionate about.
 * Where the artist works: **

So, I look out my studio windows, am shaded by two magnificent walnut trees, and see the creek, and this too influences my work. Again in an intangible way, but it does.

Harvesting most of the lumber I use affects the outcome of my work as well. That participation in the process is priceless. How can I not be affected by planking a mighty walnut into lumber? It truly is a humbling process, seeing these large trees, which stood for hundreds of years, finally die, and become lumber. How can I assure their second life in a piece of furniture is as noble as their first? I can't, but I strive to each time. To do anything but my best, out of respect for these beautiful trees, would be a travesty. As a child, I played in and under some of the very trees that I later was given the opportunity to use. That is a feeling that is difficult to put into words, how that connection influences the work.
 * Other thoughts: **

I have always felt I am very fortunate to do what I do. I feel even more fortunate that someone else is equally interested in what I do, and how I do it, to support it. I have a wonderful group of clients and patrons that have supported me though the years. Some have bought pieces I had on hand; others commissioned me to make something for them. There is something in each one of them that is shared, I feel. There is a level of trust for the work, and for me, that is very moving. It is not for everyone, this work that I produce, so I am always intrigued by the ones that do gravitate towards it, and want to be a part of it. They know I don't give detailed drawings, they know I don't have a clear picture of the piece until I get into it a bit, yet they have the trust and belief that something beautiful will come out of the process. They let go of the control, and allow the process to unfold. That is not something just anyone can do.
 * The artist's clients: **

Artist Biography SAAM Collections Page [|Charles Radtke]
 * Links: **