Doing intarsia has become a popular hobby in recent years, and woodworking, craft, art, and hobby shows are displaying more intarsia every year. Many of the pieces are for sale. We offer the following to inform potential buyers of what they should look for in terms of quality workmanship, which can be sadly lacking in some cases.

There are a couple of obvious things to think about: First and foremost, of course, you should like the subject-matter of the piece, or else why buy it. If kittens are not your thing, why would you buy an intarsia of kittens? Fortunately, there is a wide range of subject-matter available, and almost certainly something to please everyone. Second, the size of the work must be suitable for your situation. A piece that is too big for the location you expect to hang it will look crowded and out of place. Conversely, a too-small piece will look odd if the allocated space is too large (although, of course, you could fill in some of the space with additional pieces).

But there are other things to consider, as well. The fit of pieces is a good indicator of quality workmanship. The gaps between the individual pieces should be very narrow, and they should be uniform. Of course, a good close, uniform fit is only achieved through the investment of extra time and a high degree of skill, which sometimes (but not always!) translates into higher prices charged. Complexity is another consideration. The more complex the work (i.e., the larger the number of individual pieces), the more effort and time must go into the preparation of the work. This is not to suggest that complex works are necessarily better somehow than simple ones -- often quite the opposite is true. But once again, the price of the work may reflect the greater complexity.

Beginners at intarsia often simply round the edges of each individual piece slightly, and leave it at that. A more dedicated artisan knows that sculpted pieces give the work a feeling of depth. For example, look at the sculpting in the rose or the dancers, or the crease in the jawbone of the polar bear. It takes extra work, to be sure, but it makes the result so much more pleasing.

Texture gives the work character. Cutting and fitting the individual pieces, and even sculpting them, may not be enough. By carving a texture into the surface of the wood, even more realism is achieved. Some examples of texture can be found on the bison and in the hat of the male dancer.

One of the most telling indicators of quality is demonstrated through care in choosing the woods used. There are two aspects to this criterion: color of the wood figure (what is often called grain) There are two schools of thought among intarsiasts with respect to color. One believes that only the natural colors of woods should be used. The other one permits the use of dyes or stains (and sometimes even pigments) to provide variety in color. We use only nature's colors, so we spend a great deal of time and energy searching through a wide variety of both exotic and domestic woods to find just the right shade for each individual piece. Sometimes Mother Nature puts wildly different colors inches away on the same board; we try to capitalize on that. If a wolf needs a yellow eye, we look and look until we find some suitably yellow wood. Less demanding intarsiats pay less attention to wood color. Indeed, some use only one kind of wood, and judging from the finished results, you might get the impression that the colors of the individual pieces were something never considered.

Although many people speak of the "grain" of the wood, what they are actually referring to is figure. Grain is actually the direction of the bundles of cells that constitute wood, whereas figure is the pattern that can often be found on the surface of a piece of wood. Some common figures are curly, quilted, birdseye, etc. Once again, low-quality intarsia works have little or no attention paid to figure, or even to the direction of the grain. But see how much more life is brought into the cowboy's hat, collar, and coat by orienting the grain the right way. And see how the figure on the pieces chosen for his face enhance the weathered and wrinkled look you might expect a range rider to have. Or examine the body of the bighorn, as well as the rocks and mountains around it. Ditto for the moose. The smoothness of the finish on the wood is the result of a lot of careful sanding. There should be no sandpaper scratches remaining, let alone marks from the blade of the saw.