Glenn Dale Magnifies Wood’s Beauty with Intarsia

Upon entering the Dale home in rural Preston, an overwhelming experience of stepping into an art gallery where creative people lived and worked and played together is realized. An array of quilted marvels grace each room. Wood carvings and intarsia creations are artistically displayed throughout the home.

Focusing on the craft of Intarsia woodworking, which “uses varied shapes, sizes, and species of wood fitted together to create a mosaic-like picture with an illusion of depth,” one has to wonder if Glenn Dale’s interest in this form of art came from years of witnessing the skillful ways his late wife Merrily brought beautiful quilts together from stacks of fabric. 

  Glenn’s enjoyment in creating wooden pieces began with chopping and whittling as a young boy in the Brooklyn Center area. After high school, he enlisted in the Army with the Buddy System, then in 1964 returned to Minnesota to marry his childhood sweetheart. 

In their nearly 60 years of marriage, Glenn and Merrily raised four delightful children: Pam, Denise, Daniel and Melanie and are blessed with nine grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

While raising their family and living in Crystal, Minn., Glenn was employed for 10 years at a machine shop, eventually returning to working with wood at the cabinet shop. During this time, he also attended night school at Anoka Tech to learn how to teach. Toward the completion of Glenn’s 35-year career as a cabinet maker/trainer, he decided he needed a hobby.

Thoughts of retirement encouraged Glenn to consider reviving his interest in whittling, so together this husband-wife team embarked on hand carving crafts. “Merrily was actually faster at carving than I was,” admits Glenn. His interest in becoming an intarsia wood worker developed over time and may have been influenced by the quilting enthusiasm of his wife.

“I seem to have always had a love for working with wood,” commented Glenn. “There is such beauty in wood and I think anyone can enjoy being creative with wood. Wood is warmth to the soul.”

Glenn’s present focus is the art of intarsia woodworking which takes a great deal of thought, time, and precision in following patterns, cutting pieces, and finishing the final creation. The word “intarsia” means “inlay” in Italian and dates back to the 13th century being popular during the Renaissance. The detailed process of intarsia woodworking Glenn uses is as follows:

1. Choose a pattern

2. Select the wood species/thickness

3. Use carbon paper to transfer the pattern to the wood.

4. Number all pieces

5. Copy pattern pieces to be cut out to glue on wood

6. Cut out pieces with scroll saw or band saw for bigger pieces

7. Sand the pieces edges and glue from pattern

8. Fit the pieces together

9. Radius edges so not sharp

10. Glue the pieces together, starting with hardest

11. Sand any protruding edges

12. Apply a Danish oil finish of one or two coats

13. Wipe off excess oil

14. Attach hangers if necessary

15. Present to customer

In selecting the wood he uses for projects, Glenn chooses woods based on color, availability, and grain pattern. Woods in his creations are: basswood, cherry, walnut, maple, steamed beech, red oak, white oak, bubinga, red cedar, alder, pine, hickory, and aspen. He purchases wood from lumberyards or people who contact him. “I guess my first task is to take the raw wood and plane it down so I can use it,” remarked Glenn. “I see beauty in wood and I am pleased to be able to bring that beauty out so others can enjoy it.”

Glenn shares his creations as well as his time with many in the Fillmore County area by visiting people needing to be cheered by his warm smile and positive word, giving rides needed for appointments or errands, and helping out with community and church activities. 

One person who knows Glenn from church and the Fillmore County Fair as the superintendent of woodworking for 20 years, Phil Durst of Greenleafton praises the finesse of Glenn’s work. “He’s really a craftsman with his intarsia woodworking and has won many champion ribbons! Glenn is a great guy! He loves to help people and is a really kind person. He’s just so special and is always happy! The word that best describes him is ‘generosity,’ and I was impressed with his devoted care for Merrily for the last three years of her life. He’s a great friend.”

Glenn’s generosity can be seen as he donates intarsia pieces to local charities and fundraisers, and by the way, he gives unique gifts of his creations to individuals – long-time friends and strangers he has met on his walks. One place to see his intarsia masterpieces will be at the Annual Craft Sale at Christ Lutheran Church in Preston on Saturday, December 7, 2024.