When I was young and studying French in school, one of my assignments was to translate a short story by a nineteenth century author named Guy de Maupassant. Maupassant's reputation as a writer rested largely on his comic and imaginative- if sometimes dark- themes as well as his controlled writing. In this particular story, which took place in the country-house of a Parisian, the furniture in the home became animated and moved around the house creating mischief when the owner left for the city.

When, as an artist I began to make furniture, my goal was to make just such furniture as dwelt in that lonely house in the French countryside.

So, just as a "still life" rendered by an artist is a "translation" of an object or set of objects, my "furniture" is a sculptural rendering (or translation) of a piece of furniture which breaths life into and animates the piece.