Dawn King WHAT Rustic Furniture Maker WHERE Workshop at 590 Brooke Valley Rd., west of Perth phone: 267-5918, email: monadawn@superaje.com; A Little of This, Code's Mill, 17 Wilson St., Perth, 267-9532 Rideau Nursery, North Gower, 489-0396 (www.rideaunursery.com) SHOWS Perth Autumn Studio Tour, Thanksgiving Weekend, Oct. 9-11, 10:00-5:00 WHY "I love to create functional objects that contain and reflect nature's beauty."   See samples of Dawn's work

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Dawn King - A Natural Talent for Rustic Work
By Sally Hansen

In the April 1, 1867 issue of The Canada Farmer, in an article on rural architecture, "rustic work" was defined as "a style of architecture in which nature is followed rather than any rules of art." It seems almost inevitable that Dawn King became a rustic furniture maker.

In 1967 Dawn, along with her first husband and one other couple, became the first hippies to arrive in Lanark County. They settled west of Perth in Brooke Valley, and Dawn embarked on her life-long quest to "live with as little negative impact on the earth as possible." She's done better than that - she makes a positive impact. Her artistic and practical rustic furniture is just one example.

Seeking Balance
To start with, Dawn follows the same guidelines for making her living and living her life, constantly striving to achieve the best balance between simplicity and practicality. "At some point, you can complicate your life by trying to keep it too simple," she has found. For example, she uses an outhouse at her workshop in the country, but uses power tools to build her genuinely rustic, long-lasting, ecologically sensible cedar furniture.

"I've always done something artistic," she tells me. "I always wanted to do something creative and satisfying that allowed me to stay home with my four kids, hopefully with enough income to get by." She found that the latter consideration was a real issue when she tried to earn a living by making quilts, sewing appliquéd clothing, and making baskets. For a while she worked for Warm Corner Sheepskin, sewing coats and vests. Her specialty was designing products "so that there was almost nothing left over," like her sheepskin mice and teddy bears.

One of her most lucrative ventures was supplying pickles to the Green Door Restaurant in Ottawa. Typically, she grew her own cucumbers and dill and garlic, and found that she could sell as many pickles as she could make. Not surprisingly, she found that pickling was not creative enough for her. In fact, "It was very boring!"

Embarking
Dawn King's success as a maker of rustic furniture evolved from her earlier experiences in making traditional willow baskets. She realized that cedar bark could be woven to produce the Mic-Mac and Shaker style baskets that are usually made of white oak or black ash, and that the cedar was much more easily harvested. It could also be used to weave seats for chairs and stools.

"Over time, it was often necessary to make gates for our fences and arbours for our garden, and I was encouraged by friends to expand my basketry business in this direction." She now works with local brush, trees and vines to produce a wide range of artistic yet durable functional items. In addition to her rustic bent-twig headboards, chairs, sofas, tables, stools and planters, she designs and builds unique arbours and trellises from long-lasting cedar poles and branches.

Dawn is also branching out into new artistic horizons by incorporating unusual pieces of found wood and driftwood into decorative as well as functional pieces. She tells me, "I love my work. I love using natural, renewable resources. During the past few years I've turned ice storm salvage into something beautiful that people can take into their lives. I cut living wood with care, ensuring that the forest grows better, or I use wood that has already been cut by local landowners for other purposes."
Many of the artists we have profiled have paid tribute to past mentors and teachers for being instrumental in their artistic careers, but I am surprised when King says "It is because of our health care system that I have been able to do what I love. In the States, artists can't afford the risk of being without health insurance. Isn't it wonderful to live in a nation like ours where people can pursue their dreams and know that their basic health care needs will be met?"

An Enduring Contribution
Dawn King may want to tread lightly on this planet, but some of her footsteps leave a pretty big positive impression. In 1977 King was one of the founders of Riverguild Fine Crafts, a cooperative art gallery and store in Perth dedicated to Canadian crafts (www.riverguild.com). Today the store is owned by 15 local artisans and exhibits the juried work of approximately 60 additional consignment artists from other regions of Canada.

Last summer she started teaching classes in how to make rustic cedar furniture at the McLachlan Woodworking Museum east of Kingston. As a result, she was commissioned to make four Victorian benches for installation in a semi-formal garden located behind the Chrysler House at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg. The benches were inspired by drawings in the aforementioned 1867 edition of The Canada Farmer.

Dawn is about to take her biggest step yet. In a few weeks she will be leaving for Nepal, and perhaps India, for a three-month stint as a volunteer with Child Haven International. Inspired by the ideals and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, Child Haven (www.childhaven.ca) assists children and women who are in need of food, education, health care, shelter and clothing, and emotional and moral support.

Child Haven homes in four countries accept children who are disabled, parentless, or from socially disadvantaged situations, and who are destitute, i.e., do not receive even one good meal a day. As a volunteer, Dawn will be living in one or more of the children's homes, teaching and supporting the children, sharing their vegetarian meals, and having no trouble upholding their Ghandian ideal of "living simply." This is her first trip abroad, and we're hoping she'll share her experiences with us at theHumm upon her return.

Relishing Rusticity
Dawn King's Studio is open to the public as Stop 7 of the upcoming Perth Autumn Studio Tour on Thanksgiving weekend, Oct., 9, 10 and 11, from 10-5 each day. She is located at 590 Brooke Valley Rd., west of Perth, where she also offers classes. There is a great map at www.perthstudiotour.com.

A good selection of Dawn's work can be found in Perth at A Little of This, located in the historic Code's Mill at the corner of Herriott and Wilson Streets. One of the best places to see her larger works is at The Rideau Nursery in North Gower (www.rideaunursery.com) where she has built a 20'x24' garden room with a porch along one side. Next spring she will again be offering a number of furniture making classes at the Nursery.

You can reach Dawn King by phone at 267-5918, by email at monadawn@superaje.com, and she has a website at www.superaje.com/~monadawn/rustic/. And there's a good chance you'll be able to pick up her new "how-to" guide to rustic cedar furniture making by next fall!