This Saturday (6/30) in San Francisco, Brooklyn-based artist/designer Scott Albrecht opens "A Forgiving Sunset," a large solo exhibition of new woodworks, works-on-paper, and steel sculptures. Scott continues to amplify his blend of artistic vision and exquisite craftsmanship in captivating works that are based in simple typographical forms but manifested from his puzzle-like assembly of numerous individual pieces of paper, wood, or, now, steel.

“The work for this show pulls from a range of experiences and inspirations over the last two years," Albrecht says. "A recurring point of reference in the work was the social climate and the growing gaps I was seeing among relationships — both on a cultural level as well as a personal level — and my own desire to return to something more connected. When I began this collection I developed a somewhat daily habit of listening to the poem, Desiderata by Max Ehrmann. Although it was originally written in 1927, it is, among many things, a fairly timeless call for empathy, compassion and understanding, which seems just as relevant and needed today as I’m sure it did when it was written.”

A Forgiving Sunset hangs at the First Amendment Gallery until July 28. The opening reception is Saturday, June 30, from 7-10pm.

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Heath Knuckles created this beautiful burl and resin sculpture he names "Red Dawn." A very satisfying and relaxing video, in large part thanks to the great music choices. Read the rest

An art collector who died earlier this year donated a remarkable collection of escaliers to Cooper-Hewiit Museum. The tiny staircases were fashioned by French compagnons, a secretive trade group of master craftworkers. Read the rest

Frank Howarth has "been into spheres lately."

I have woodturned an 8 ball from a chunk of walnut that has been kicking around the shop for about a decade. I first turned a sphere from the walnut. I originally was thinking of making it into a Death Star but then we came up with the idea of making it into an 8 ball. I cut the white of the 8 into the walnut sphere on a CNC router. A large part of this project was figuring out how to hold the sphere on the CNC table securely. Then I cut the white of the 8 from a piece of maple to fit into the sphere. I then continued turning the sphere and made the 8 flush with the surface. I used walnut oil for the finish.

When he's not winning speedcarving contests with his chainsaw, Estonian sculptor Igor Loskutow crafts wood into outsize sculptures and furniture, like these remarkable dragon benches. Read the rest

Australian woodworker Brendan Stemp found an old fence post with decades of weather damage. After some prep work, he filled the wood gaps with resin and turned a beautiful pot on his lathe. Read the rest

Dorian Bracht's supremely satisfying videos of crafting exotic wood joints from Japanese and European traditions are both inspiring and envy-inducing. Read the rest

Watching Laura Kampf build a poplar projector box is an education in 1) excellent craftsmanship and 2) tools I must now get. The way dovetail jointing is illustrated is particularly fascinating: in 5 minutes of well-shot arty youtube cinema I feel I learned more than a dozen talky howto videos where the content is buried somewhere after a minute of intro music, five minutes of "HEY GUYS" rambling, and nine more fooling around in the shop. Don't miss the sketchbook! Read the rest

Morten Grønning has been experimenting with gloves fitted with small motorized sanders, and it seems it has some potential for new ways to shape materials as it gets more refined. Read the rest