About Abraham Tesser

Designing and building furniture is very personal. I struggle with every detail of a design.  Then, at the workbench, I find it hard to beat the feeling produced by guiding the transformation of a piece of rough lumber into an elegant, smooth part.  With luck, the piece will be one that captures the eye and invites the hand to touch.

I am constantly redesigning as I am building.  The finished piece is unlikely to be what I originally envisioned but a more or less different piece.  And when things go well, when a hand plane produces the perfect shaving, when a beautiful shape emerges on the lathe, when a piece of wood that has just been surfaced shows a figure or character that is better than expected, it is indeed thrilling.

Interacting with a patron with particular needs and preferences often results in designs that otherwise might never have come to mind.  When that works it is a joy.  Almost nothing pleases me more than learning that others appreciate my work.  Each piece is, for a time, my baby and it is difficult for me to let it go.  But it is gratifying to know that someone likes it enough to have it in their home or office.

I have written about woodworking and my work has been featured in various media outlets.  

Image of Angela’s Table. Fine Woodworking,January/February, 2021. P. 71.

Chairman of the Board.  Chapter in J. Bernstein.  Late Boomers: Inspiring Stories about People Who’ve Done Life Changing Things Later in Life.  2020.  Pp 66-71.

A Stylish Stool: Quick Turn Adds Pizzazz. Abraham Tesser. American Woodturner,   

October, 2019.  Vol 34, no. 5, 26-30.

   Wood Works: A Regional Exhibition, Abraham Tesser, American Woodturner, August, 2017, Pp. 22-24.

Southeast “Wood Works” Show Debuts. , Fine Woodworking, July/August 2017, No. 262, p. 75.

Wood Works 2017:  A New Show Makes a Splash in the Southeast.  Elizabeth Healy.  A Fine Woodworking Magazine blog.  

An off-the-wall idea for making more space.  Woodshop News, Dec. 2016, vol. XXXI, No. 1.  Pp. 50-51. 

Rachel’s Cabinet.  In Furniture Society (author), S. Dotson (Ed.), D. Congdon-Martin (Ed.) Rooted: Creating a Sense of Place: Contemporary Studio Furniture.  Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2015.

Lamp sheds light on wonders of veneer.  The Cutting Edge with Abraham Tesser.  Woodshop News.  March 2011, Vol. XXV, #4.  Pp 28-31.

Craige Table, Hat Tree, Three S-Chairs in Snyder, J. B. (Ed.)  Wood Art Today 2.  Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2010, Pp 209-211.

A Pool Cue Stand.  American Woodturner, Feb., 2010, vol. 25, # 1, Pp 52-53.

Sliding Bench Jack Holds Boards on Edge at Any Height.  Fine Woodworking, Nov./Dec 2009, #208, P. 14.  (Award for Best Tip.)

Every once in a while something wonderful happens:  One's work is singled out for special  recognition.  It is always a surprise and always a thrill.

Madison-Morgan Cultural Center

The Chair Show: A Juried Art Exhibition.

Madison GA

February 7- June 2, 2020.

Juror’s Choice Award for “S-Chair”

.20th Master Woodworkers Show. Juried show sponsored by The East Tennessee Woodworkers Guild and The Arts and Culture Alliance, Knoxville TN Nov. 1-3, 2019. People’s Choice Award for “Helix Table”.

44th Juried Exhibition

Lyndon House Art Center, Athens, GA

March 7- May 3, 2019.

Nancy Lukasiewicz Award for Excellence in Fine Craft 

for Ladies Night out by Abraham Tesser and Olena Nebuchadnezzar

19th Master Woodworkers Show.  

Juried show sponsored by The East Tennessee Woodworkers Guild and The Arts and Culture Alliance, Knoxville TN Nov. 3-5, 2017.  

People’s Choice Award 

for “Visible Works” an animated cabinet.

Fine Woodworking, Nov./Dec 2009

 Best Tip Award 

for “Sliding Bench Jack Holds Boards on Edge at Any Height.”  #208, P. 14.  

Southworks 2009 Art Exhibition 

14th Annual Juried Show, Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation (OCAF),Watkinsville GA.

April 3 – May 9. 2008.

First Merit 3-D Award 

for S-Chair.

Lyndon House Art Center

32cd Juried Exhibition

Athens, GA

February 18- May 12, 2007

3-D Award 

for “S3 in a Circle”.