This lantern was my final project for my Materials Studies course. I created a lantern out of wood and acrylic. For the wood, I used recycled white oak, whitewood, and cedar.
Inspiration
In a podcast interview, Wisconsin wood artist Ike Wynter discussed his most famous woodworking projects as well as the processes involved in creating them. His Crayola Crayon Box and NFL Draft Day projects stood out to me due to their use of discarded wood and appreciation for the woods’ natural appearance. For my final project, I used leftover wood and other materials from my Grandfather to make the lantern and stained the wood instead of painting it. Ike also discussed how his pieces held sentimental value to him, thus driving his attention to detail. I decided to make my lantern a Christmas gift for my grandparents, to give me more motivation to make this project perfect.
Process
All of the wood for the project was cut using a chop saw, and the acrylic panels were cut using a router. For the frame of the lantern, I used wood glue to connect butt joints. The acrylic was attached using hot glue. The top of the lantern was assembled using glue on butt joints and nails shot from a nail gun. The wood was sanded and stained to give a rustic look to the lantern.
