Visions take shape
Source: Centre Daily Times (Original Article)
PINE GROVE MILLS — One whiff, and Dean Luse falls in love all over again.
The scent of fresh pine, maybe walnut or cherry, hits him, an alluring perfume that promises another chapter in an enduring relationship.
“When I get around a sawmill, fresh-sawed lumber, oh, that’s the best smell,” he said.
A retired contractor now 81, Luse has been enthralled with wood for decades. In a cluttered two-bay garage, he transforms simple planks into one-of-a-kind furniture crafted with the care of masters of yore.
“I very seldom make a piece that’s a duplicate,” he said. “I always make it a little bit different.”
He just doesn’t make a lot of profit from his hobby.
Some pieces he sells, but many become gifts to his family or to the State College Christian Women’s Club annual benefit auction. Others fill his Pine Grove Mills home, among them a glass-topped, walnut coffee table, an oak TV cabinet and a cherry gate-leg table.
In a cookie-cutter, prefabricated age, Luse rarely uses patterns. His inspiration comes from catalogs, history books and antique stores. A classic design catches his eye, and with a few measurements, he creates his own version.
“I just get a lot of joy out of it,” he said. “You look at something and say, ‘Well, I could improve on that.’ ”
Local residents appreciate Luse’s skill. Paulette Wernecke, of State College, calls herself a “fan of his work.” She owns five of his pieces — a small table, an entertainment center, a dry sink, a corner cabinet and a jelly cupboard. Two were made to order. Luse used a photo as a guide for the cherry dry sink, and he built the cupboard to fit Wernecke’s narrow hallway.
She likes his blending of old and new. “He can recapture the antiqueness of something,” budgetairfarestips Wernecke said.
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