“Humpback Whale and Calf” intarsia art by Washington State artist John Ness measures 13 x 8 x .75, priced at $330. The design features a mother Humpback whale and her baby, handcrafted from amazing California Buckeye Burl wood. This handmade artwork is created entirely without dyes or stains. 

Stop by the gallery and check out John’s unbelievable intarsia work in person!

Intarsia is a form of wood inlaying, like puzzle pieces. The start of the practice dates from before the seventh century AD. Intarsia actually predates ceramic mosaic work, but did not survive the ravages of time as well in the Old World. The technique of intarsia inlays sections of contrasting wood to form a design. The word intarsia may derive from the Latin word interserere (to insert).

While working for 30 years as a mechanical engineer in the pulp & paper industry, intarsia artist John Ness enjoyed spending his spare time in his workshop. He built anything from model airplanes to furniture. His mother’s side of the family was artistic with painters, stonemasons and woodcarvers amongst them.

John got started with intarsia work when he bought a gift for his in-laws and was greatly intrigued with the piece. It hangs on their living room wall, and every time John saw it he wanted to know more about this form of art. So he had to try it and discovered that he found his “calling”.

Each piece is individually crafted and finished by hand. John follows either stock patterns or patterns that he has designed himself. He carefully selects the wood to be used for each piece to highlight the features. He uses either a polyurethane or lacquer finish, depending on the woods, so no future maintenance should be required. No stains or dyes are used, all the colors are the natural color and grain of the wood.

Although John considers his intarsia work one of his favorite hobbies, we at Forest Gems see John as a professional artist and consider his intarsia work of the highest quality. We are very glad to have his pieces available in our gallery.

Humpback whales live in all oceans around the world. They travel great distances every year and have one of the longest migrations of any mammal on the planet. Some populations swim 5,000 miles from tropical breeding grounds to colder, more productive feeding grounds. Humpback whales feed on shrimp-like crustaceans (krill) and small fish, straining huge volumes of ocean water through their baleen plates, which act like a sieve.

The humpback whale gets its common name from the distinctive hump on its back. Its long pectoral fins inspired its scientific name, Megaptera, which means “big-winged” and novaeangliae, which means “New England,” in reference to the location where European whalers first encountered them. Humpback whales are a favorite of whale watchers―they are often active, jumping out of the water and slapping the surface with their pectoral fins or tails.

California Buckeye burl, also known as Aesculus californica, is a unique and prized wood known for its distinctive swirling patterns and vibrant colors, often featuring blues, greys, blacks, and golds. It’s a hardwood, though softer than many other hardwoods, and is found growing in the foothills of California’s Central Valley and along the central coast.