American Cowboy article on Andy and Aaron. “Rustic Illusionist”

	American Cowboy

Rustic Illusionist A TABLE BY ANDY SANCHEZ dominates whatever space it inhabits. Massive, it grounds the room. With its striking looks, it commands the eye. Through its purely organic form, it brings the outdoors indoors. And by virtue of its refined craftsmanship and detailing-a highly unusual wood is meticulously finished, then inlaid with marble or turquoise-it strikes a note of elegance and permanence. --The level of refinement belies the rustic nature of each finished piece, a rusticity inherent in its organic lines and material itself. Sanchez, a New Mexico native who has been working with wood his entire life, calls the effect a "rustic illusion". --Says the artist, "Our desire is to create an heirloom piece and, more importantly, to artistically display the beauty within nature, causing the spirit within man to be in awe of God's creation," --The awe begins with the wood Sanchez favors, alligator juniper, so called for its distinctive bark resembling an alligator's rough skin. The trees grow almost exclusively in New Mexico's and Arizona's lower elevation forests, where rainfall is limited. Usually short twisted in form, the trees will occasionally grow straight and tall when among pines. If left undisturbed for long enough, their trunks may grow to four or more feet in diameter and they may live for several thousand years. These specimens, when discovered as dead-standing timber, as they occasionally are by a woodcutter with whom Sanchez has had a longstanding relationship, are the prized trees.	Way out west in the Land of Enchantment, Andy Sanchez has an enchanting way with the furniture he makes. --"Our philosophy is to bring out the natural beauty of the wood," Sanchez continues, "Where the holes naturally occur, that gives us an opportunity to set alabaster or marble or wood in there, to enhance the natural beauty of the wood. Sometimes we use contrasting woods; we might put a butterfly dovetail in a tabletop, or use mahogany or walnut for the back legs of a chair." --Sanchez keep up his profile by attending about ten major shows a year. He works closely with each client, emailing photographs and suggestions as he completes commissions. He says that, in the end, the process is always surprising.. and gratifying. --People give me a chunk of money to do something, and they don't even know what it's going to look like, I don't even know what it's going to look like! I'm honored that they trust me, Of course, "He adds, "If they're not happy with it, we'll build them another piece. But we've never had to do that". . Chase Reynolds Ewald is the author of Cowboy Chic: Western Style Comes Home, Sweet Treats from the Wild West, and other books. She can be reached via email at (crewald@sprintmail.com) Sanchez' striking creations please the eye with a unique contrast, being at once rough-hewn and polished
	--Sanchez and his son Aaron, who works with him full time, help harvest the trees from the nearby Gila National Forest. "As soon as the snow melts, we go in," Sanchez says. They cut the sections out, four men each taking a corner to lug the massive piece between them. Back in the shop, they let each piece of wood dictate its eventual form. The Sanchez workshop is best known for its tables and chairs, particularly its sturdy but graceful rockers, but they work mostly on commission and will build anything from standing lamps to full cabinets. Aaron helps his father in everything, but specializes in carvings; he also creates graceful bowls inlaid with semi-precious stones. Sanchez' six other children participate in varying degrees, while his wife, Cheryl, handles the crucial back-office functions. --Having learned woodworking from his father, a serious hobbyist who built Spanish Colonial furniture, Sanchez attended New Mexico State University to study wildlife management. After two years, he followed a calling to become a Christian pastor, and except for a two-year stint in the military, he has stayed at that calling ever since, always working in his craft at the same time. In 1988, he took a position with a church in Maryland, where he had the opportunity to work on a very special house built for a client who had extremely exacting standards. He stayed for two years, Though he'd had his own cabinet shop previously, it was in Maryland-working with 30 other carpenters from all over the country, all highly trained- that he hit his stride. When he returned to New Mexico, he said, "I realized I'd always had a passion for furniture, and now I felt like I had the tolls and the skills to pursue it." --Sanchez started out working in the Santa Fe style, and gradually started incorporation Mission influences. After a woodcutter walked into his shop one day in 1995 with a slab of alligator juniper, Sanchez' style was from that moment most influenced by the wood itself. His style further evolved when his woodcutter friend, bringing yet more wood, brought him another surprise. --"He sort of apologetically said,'Andy, these are beautiful but they have some holes in them,' "Sanchez recalls, "There's a marble quarry right outside of town and I'd been going there and looking at the stone. I said, 'Sure, we can fill those holes. 'We had lemons, so we made lemonade!"

Rustic Illusionist

A TABLE BY ANDY SANCHEZ
dominates whatever space it inhabits. Massive, it grounds the room. With its striking looks, it commands the eye. Through its purely organic form, it brings the outdoors indoors. And by virtue of its refined craftsmanship and detailing-a highly unusual wood is meticulously finished, then inlaid with marble or turquoise-it strikes a note of elegance and permanence.
--The level of refinement belies the rustic nature of each finished piece, a rusticity inherent in its organic lines and material itself. Sanchez, a New Mexico native who has been working with wood his entire life, calls the effect a "rustic illusion".
--Says the artist, "Our desire is to create an heirloom piece and, more importantly, to artistically display the beauty within nature, causing the spirit within man to be in awe of God's creation,"
--The awe begins with the wood Sanchez favors, alligator juniper, so called for its distinctive bark resembling an alligator's rough skin. The trees grow almost exclusively in New Mexico's and Arizona's lower elevation forests, where rainfall is limited. Usually short twisted in form, the trees will occasionally grow straight and tall when among pines. If left undisturbed for long enough, their trunks may grow to four or more feet in diameter and they may live for several thousand years. These specimens, when discovered as dead-standing timber, as they occasionally are by a woodcutter with whom Sanchez has had a longstanding relationship, are the prized trees.

Way out west in the Land of Enchantment, Andy Sanchez has an enchanting way with the furniture he makes.
Rectangular table

--"Our philosophy is to bring out the natural beauty of the wood,"
Sanchez continues, "Where the holes naturally occur, that gives us an opportunity to set alabaster or marble or wood in there, to enhance the natural beauty of the wood. Sometimes we use contrasting woods; we might put a butterfly dovetail in a tabletop, or use mahogany or walnut for the back legs of a chair."
--Sanchez keep up his profile by attending about ten major shows a stove-wine cabinet year. He works closely with each client, emailing photographs and suggestions as he completes commissions. He says that, in the end, the process is always surprising.. and gratifying.
--People give me a chunk of money to do something, and they don't even know what it's going to look like, I don't even know what it's going to look like! I'm honored that they trust me, Of course, "He adds, "If they're not happy with it, we'll build them another piece. But we've never had to do that".

Chase Reynolds Ewald is the author of
Cowboy Chic: Western Style Comes Home, Sweet Treats from the Wild West, and other books. She can be reached via email at (crewald@sprintmail.com)

Kachina table
Sanchez' striking
creations please
the eye with a
unique contrast,
being at once
rough-hewn and
polished

--Sanchez and his son Aaron, who works with him full time, help harvest the trees from the nearby Gila National Forest. "As soon as the snow melts, we go in," Sanchez says. They cut the sections out, four men each taking a corner to lug the massive piece between them. Back in the shop, they let each piece of wood dictate its eventual form. The Sanchez workshop is best known for its tables and chairs, particularly its sturdy but graceful rockers, but they work mostly on commission and will build anything from standing lamps to full cabinets. Aaron helps his father in everything, but specializes in carvings; he also creates graceful bowls inlaid with semi-precious stones. Sanchez' six other children participate in varying degrees, while his wife, Cheryl, handles the crucial back-office functions.
--Having learned woodworking from his father, a serious hobbyist who built Spanish Colonial furniture, Sanchez attended New Mexico State University to study wildlife management. After two years, he followed a calling to become a Christian pastor, and except for a two-year stint in the military, he has stayed at that calling ever since, always working in his craft at the same time. In 1988, he took a position with a church in Maryland, where he had the opportunity to work on a very special house built for a client who had extremely exacting standards. He stayed for two years, Though he'd had his own cabinet shop previously, it was in Maryland-working with 30 other carpenters from all over the country, all highly trained- that he hit his stride. When he returned to New Mexico, he said, "I realized I'd always had a passion for furniture, and now I felt like I had the tolls and the skills to pursue it."
--Sanchez started out working in the Santa Fe style, and gradually started incorporation Mission influences. After a woodcutter walked into his shop one day in 1995 with a slab of alligator juniper, Sanchez' style was from that moment most influenced by the wood itself. His style further evolved when his woodcutter friend, bringing yet more wood, brought him another surprise.
--"He sort of apologetically said,'Andy, these are beautiful but they have some holes in them,' "Sanchez recalls, "There's a marble quarry right outside of town and I'd been going there and looking at the stone. I said, 'Sure, we can fill those holes. 'We had lemons, so we made lemonade!"

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