Woodworkers Chat room
Chat with Troy Lichthardt
All Topics of woodworking to be discussed!!
Monday evenings at 6:30pm cst
About the Artist
At the age of 8, I began woodworking. I followed the guidance of my father, an accomplished woodworker. My father was a key leader in the 4-H Woodworking Program.
I joined 4-H in 1978 and was a member for 8 years. In that time, I made projects ranging from towel racks and display cases to cheval mirrors and victorian scroll shelves.
In high school I excelled in drafting, art and woodshop. My projects ranged from curio cabinets to electric guitars.
After high school, my father and I worked part time on kitchens, custom display cabinets, gun cases and furniture. In 1990, I bought a woodworking book to learn about the art of Intarsia. My father and I both tried a few patterns. I found that I had a very good view of the dimensional pieces even before shaping them. I then started making Intarsia wall hangings. In seeing the interest and demand that they created, I decided to incorporate the Intarsia into furniture. With my fathers encouragement, I began to design my own Intarsia patterns and Intarsia furniture. Unfortunately my father passed away before my first piece was complete but at the same time, that gave me more momentum to change the direction of my life.
In 1997 I produced my idea of Intarsia Furniture and opened the doors of My-Grain Creative Woodwork. Some of my orginal designs include "The Boy and Girl" hope chest, "South Dakota Dreams" gun cabinet, "The Cabin" end table and the pub table, to name a few.
My-Grain Creative Woodwork has evolved into making custom designs for doors, furntiure and floors. My work has not only been sold locally, but world wide. I continue to strive for heirloom quality in each piece that is produced. I would like to see the products admired not only by the purchaser, but their many generations to come.
Awards Include:
4-H:
7 Grand Champion
1 Reserve Champion
Several 1st & 2nd Awards
Art Shows - country wide:
2 Best of Show
5 Best of Catagory
3 Artist Choice
Business Plan Competition 1997:
2nd Place
