Our brand new SCC Fine Craft Boutique is filled with beautiful pieces of many different mediums, a few of which our readers may not know much about. We hope to educate these readers through a new collection of blog posts highlighting the different mediums and styles of work we feature in our boutique.
The History and
Creation of the Oval Shaker Box
Wayne Dueck is a woodworker from Saskatoon who is a juried
member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council. He specializes in the oval Shaker box,
which is a sturdy wood box with a tight fitting lid, the style of which was invented by an American religious group known as the Shakers.
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| Wayne Dueck's oval Shaker boxes come in many different sizes. |
The Shakers, more formally known as The United Society of
Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, is a group which began in the 17th
century in France, but soon after immigrated to the United States. The group focused on creating a utopian society based on the
virtues of purity, pacifism, tolerance, and equality of the sexes. In the early
19th century, the Shakers reached their peak membership, with more
than 6000 Shakers living in 19 different communities in the eastern United
States. Today, the last remaining Shaker community is located in Maine, after their
numbers dwindled throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
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| Dueck's boxes are created without any glue, only copper tacks. |
The Shakers strived for perfection in everything they did,
and this can be seen in their fine but simple woodworking. Dueck agrees
with the society’s focus on the utility of handmade objects, and not only
beauty. This worldview is engrained in Wayne’s creation of the simple Shaker
boxes, which are fashioned using no glue, but only small copper tacks. His
design is taken directly from the original Shaker tradition, which dates back
to the 1790s. Dueck uses quartersawn cherry and birdseye maple wood in his Shaker
boxes, which feature uniform, slender sides, symmetrical joints, and tight fitting
lids. Coated with a combination of beeswax and linseed oil, the boxes come in a
variety of sizes and can be used to store an assortment of household items and
personal treasures. The boxes range in price from $40-$80, depending on their size.
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| Dueck's Shaker boxes are featured in the SCC Fine Craft Boutique. |
If you are interested in purchasing one of Wayne's traditional oval Shaker
boxes, please visit the SCC Fine Craft Boutique, located in the Saskatchewan
Craft Council’s Affinity Gallery at 813 Broadway Avenue, Saskatoon, SK.
