Tony Funderburk

Back in 1996 I built a very nice (if I do say so myself, and I do) dining “hutch.” It’s a two-piece, very large piece of furniture with loads of room for whatever Elgielene prefers to put in it. At the time, I built the lower section with a single large door that opened vertically. And once it was opened, two legs could be attached to convert the door into a table. Little did I know that one day I’d be writing about patina art and that same tabletop.

But here I am, 27 years later, talking about patina art and that table top.

Because, over time (and under a bit of objection) I replaced that large conversion door with four standard cabinet doors. And I set the door/tabletop inside a basement closet where it stayed for a few years.

But, as circumstances would have it, years later, in a different house, we needed a smaller dining table. And I decided to build one (because I do crazy stuff like that). I considered a lot of options. But I found that door/tabletop in the basement and devised a clever plan to turn it, once again, into a tabletop.

It was a great size. Only trouble was, there were holes where a large piano hinge had been attached. And another large divot where a flush-mounted handle had been. And I needed the top to look as though we had always intended it to be a tabletop. So, I found some gold, pewter, and brass pins to fill all the screw holes where the hinge had been. And I commissioned a coppersmith to turn a copper rectangle into a unique piece of patina art.

The result was pretty cool, I must say. I glued the copper rectangle across the top of the table, and that covered the divot where the handle had once been. And the colors looked very nice with the pins I then added all the way around the perimeter of the table.

Then, I attached four 4 X 4’s that I had shaped into table legs. And voila! We had our smaller, one-of-a-kind table.

And there’s a reason I shared all that with you.

If only I could remember what it was.

Hmm, while I’m thinking about it, here’s one of the definitions of patina, from my computer dictionary. It says: “an impression or appearance of something: he carries the patina of old money and good breeding.”

Well, I’m not from “old money.” And “good breeding” is certainly in the eyes of the beholder. But I remember statement, from a marketing influencer, who said patina “is earned.” And it was meant as a very high compliment. Because, for something (or someone) to have patina, means it (or he or she) has “had value for long enough to give a trusted and respected appearance.”

Oh yeah, I just remembered why I’m sharing all this with you.

I’ve lived, on planet Earth, for a long time.

Matter of fact, yesterday marked the completion of another “trip around the sun,” as so many say these days. And I don’t believe anyone would confuse me with patina art. But I’ve certainly acquired a unique patina. Hanging on to a planet that’s spinning around 1000 miles per hour, as it travels around the sun, will do that to you.

And here’s something I shared, on the subject, a while back:

Good breeding and patina,
A silver ocarina,
And words that were, so long ago, composed
Intrigued the ballerina
From down in Argentina,
Who passed along these next words, juxtaposed.

No One’s Pawn

Silky satin words in Latin
Are brought now to my mind.
Old arsenic can stop the tick
And cause my brain to bind.
A flowing thought is simply what
A person needs to think.
The answer’s clear, and yes we’re near.
We’re standing on the brink.
Disaster goes, to where? Who knows?
Be thankful when it’s gone.
For those who see true liberty…
Well, they are no one’s pawn.
I’m one of these down on their knees
And asking for a chance
To prove by words I’m not from herds
Of men unheard and gone.
I’m no one’s pawn.

© 1973

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