mnartists.org: Dan Bredemeier

Africa 2006 legend.

Dan Bredemeier — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 00:00:07 GMT

This is the legend for a map of Africa.

Africa 2006

Dan Bredemeier — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 23:52:15 GMT

In this newest map of Africa, I scorched the edges of the individual countries to provide more contrast with the bleached curly Maple in the background. I think I had Thanksgiving on my mind when I did the legend (lower left corner).

Mexico

Dan Bredemeier — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 22:13:05 GMT

Here is Mexico, made from wood. If you look closely you can see all the details like the Mexican flag, an Aztec, the Virgin of Guadeloupe, a Spanish galleon,a Mayan and a port view in the legend.

Latin World Map Detail

Dan Bredemeier — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 02:48:33 GMT

This is detail of a large world map. It designed to look as if it was commissioned by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in the year 1529. In that decade Magellan sailed around the world, Mexico city was conquered by the Spanish, Vienna was beseiged by crusading Moslems, the newly discovered Americas were named and countless historical events occurred. The insets shown here include Mexico City drawn in 1524 by the coquistadore Cortez, a three-hundred foot long Chinese ship, the compass rose and a parrot covering up a defect in the veneer.

Geography Education

Dan Bredemeier — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 02:35:36 GMT

This is a local Minneapolis elementary school student educating herself about Minnesota geography. That's me showing her where the Mississippi River starts. Our students aren't as bad at geography as people seem to think. That beautiful piece of wood comprising Canada is a type of blistered Sapele' pommele. It comes from a city in Nigeria named Sapele'.

Minnesota

Dan Bredemeier — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 02:27:43 GMT

This is one of many Minnesota maps I have done. All 87 counties are different species of wood. The water is Avidore veneer bleached white, then dyed blue. There are hundreds of interesting facts written on the wood. For example Itasca is a contraction of two words: verITAS (Latin for truth) + CAput (Latin for source). Everytime I do a Minnesota map I learn something new.

St. Michael slaying the Dragon

Dan Bredemeier — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 02:04:37 GMT

This is a wooden recreation of John Ford's illustration of St. Michael slaying the dragon. The column in the background is unusual Japanese Tamo Ash. The simulated stone in the foreground is a burl from a Pimento tree that grows in Jamaica.

Geisha Girl

Dan Bredemeier — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 01:44:24 GMT

This is a picture drawn by Edmond Dulac, recreated in wood veneer. The girl is standing on Walnut burl, the background is Olive Ash burl. It was a gift to my mom.

Wooden World Map in Latin

Dan Bredemeier — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 01:37:31 GMT

This is probably my favorite map. I did an earlier version of this with the writing in English. Here it is in Latin, looking more like an antique map made in the year 1529, reflecting the global, historic events of that decade. The ocean is shimmering, "quilted" Maple bookmatched to repeat a continuous pattern. Every different color is a different piece of wood, almost 3,000 in all. It took about a month to make. The insets feature a large Chinese ship, a parrot, Magellan's ship "Victoria," Mexico City as it looked in 1524, a sea monster and a Viking longboat. The legend is the allegorical "Europa" sitting in front of books, representing"knowledge. It is now in a house in Edina.

Kitty inspects the ship.

Dan Bredemeier — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 01:22:07 GMT

My cat is looking over a ship model I started working on in July, 2003. It is psychotically detailed. More on this later.

Africa 2005

Dan Bredemeier — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 01:12:32 GMT

This is map of Africa made entirely from wood veneer. The European countries are darker woods, Northern Africa is lighter and Southern Africa has wood with a reddish tint. Overall it looks better than the photograph. The bird'seye Maple used for the ocean gives a three-dimensional illusion. (2005) This was officially the one-hundreth "wooden" map I have made.

USA 2006 Detail

Dan Bredemeier — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 00:59:10 GMT

This is a detail of the USA map. I'm trying to show the shimmering depth of the wood, I guess I need photography lessons. The ocean here is made from strips of curly maple bookmatched next to each other. The blue is a Tung oil mixture. California is made from Paella burl that comes from the Narra tree that grows in Cambodia.

USA 2006

Dan Bredemeier — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 00:16:02 GMT

This is The USA made entirely from wood veneer. This map was on display at Southdale for the Minnesota Woodworker's Guild exhibition in April, 2006. Every state is a separate piece of wood. The inserts feature Hawaii and Alaska. The legend is made from Indian Satinwood and bird'seye Maple. Just for the record, Minnesota is made from Sabuni, a truly rare species of wood that grows only in the country of Burundi. It is so bright that I have never been able to get a good photograph of it. (2006)

Wooden World Map in English

Dan Bredemeier — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 00:04:22 GMT

This is a large (46" x 68") world map. This one has all of the writing done in English. The ocean is made from shimmering curly Maple. There are about 2500 pieces of wood in this one, 285 pieces in the compass rose. The outer frame is Honduran Mahogany, the inner frame is Padauk. (2000)

Middle Earth detail

Dan Bredemeier — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 23:49:47 GMT

This is a detail of the larger Middle Earth map. This photo features an inset of Bilbo Baggins' home as drawn by J.R.R. Tolkien. The ceiling is Walnut burl, the beams are Padauk and the floor is made from alternating ebonized Sycamore and white Holly wood. This was purchased by one of the Mayo family doctors. (2001)