The visit to Aaron Levine Studio was inspiring in the design methodology to create furniture as art. Aaron is inspired by content and derives tile patterns from tessellations. The process to come up with these tessellations derive from multiple inspirations like connections with nature and the universe. Majority of Aaron’s work is tables like chess, computer, and dinner and he has done specialty pieces that have been custom made for various churches and museums.
These tables are made by hand and on occasion have been integrated with different advanced fabrication techniques like CNC Machine, Laser Cutters, and various metal fabrication. The tables are blended with specialty woods including Whengay, Holly, Birds Eye Maple, Alaskan cedar, Quilted Maple, Redwood Burrow, Lacehood, and many other exotic woods. Aaron has an impressive collection of unique pieces woods and is an advocate of only collecting wood that are not damaging to the environment.
Aaron spends time designing his tessellations through advanced 3D modeling softwares like Rhinoceros, Grasshopper, and AutoCAD. From these programs, he is able to export the design and use advanced fabrication techniques in order to connect the linework to the material. He currently has a small studio space in Bainbridge Island, Washington that has a 4’X8′ Coherent Industrial Laser Cutter and plenty of open space to work on his projects.
His intricate work and storytelling about his designs made for a memorable studio visit. From the correlation of detail derived from nature to the craft in advanced fabrication, this is an inspiration for any designer in any design field.