Comulada wins Fair Theme award for Design in Wood contest

Fallbrook craftsman Jeffrey Comulada received the Fair Theme award in the San Diego County Fair's Design in Wood contest.

Comulada was given the award for the work he called "Time Machine Desk" and entered in the Art Furniture category. The desk made of recycled pine and recycled plywood includes a chair on a platform, a steampunk wheel on the back of the chair, and a train cow catcher and smokestack in the front of the desk. This year's fair theme was "Mad About the Fair" and paid tribute to Alice in Wonderland, including the steampunk technology.

"I was very happy," said Comulada.

Comulada modeled his desk after the time machine from the 1895 H.G. Wells novel "The Time Machine". The front of Comulada's desk has a clock. "I wanted to be in with that theme of time," he said.

The smokestack opens up to hold a wastebasket. Other components open up to provide storage areas for computer equipment or other items.

Comulada spent about three months working on "Time Machine Desk", working on one section at a time.

"Time Machine Desk" did not place in its class, nor did Comulada's Traditional Woodworking - Accessories entry called "Retro-Electronics Lamp Console," which was made of recycled pine and is a console with dials, meters, a speaker, and a light.

Comulada moved from Temecula to Fallbrook four years ago. He was raised in Los Angeles and took up woodworking in the 1990s, when he was living in Temecula.

Comulada also had an entry in the fair's Exhibition of Fine Art. "The last two years I got into art," he said. "I still do woodworking."

Fallbrook woodcarver Jack Boggio took first place in the Made for Children competition. "Getting Ready for Christmas" was crafted from maple, redheart, birch, and bass wood and is a carousel with reindeer and sleds available for the riders, elves and soldiers by the lampposts outside the carousel, and a "Countdown to Christmas" display board and trees on the edge of the carousel platform.

Boggio was given an honorable mention ribbon in the Embellished/Mixed Media class. "Sunburst Platter" used alder wood and is round with a sun in the middle and a round decoration closer to the edge. Boggio did not place in the Wood Turning - Face Work: Perpendicular to the Ways of the Lathe category for "Buckeye Pearl", which is an oyster shell design including a pearl and was made out of buckeye burl (burl is twisted or curled grain).

Bonsall craftsman Jack Lamare had the first-place Wood Carving - Marine Animals entry. "Sea Turtle 2016" is made of walnut root ball; the turtle's fins are pointed up in the carving.

Fallbrook woodworker Jan Greenwald entered three pieces in the Wood Turning - Embellished/Mixed Media class. "Three for One", which is three connected bowls made from Hass avocado trees grown in Fallbrook, received second place. Greenwald's other two submittals were given honorable mention ribbons: "Winged Bowl" is made of English walnut and is a bowl with edges, and "Untitled" is an asymmetrical bowl made of walnut.

Ray Camien of Fallbrook took third place in the Animals competition with "Jack Rabbit", a standing rabbit with a hat. Camien used alder wood for all three of his entries and did not place in the Human Form category for "Pitcher", which is a right-handed baseball pitcher in the set position, or in the Embellished/Mixed Media class for "Tree Frog", which is a frog on a round depressed area of the rounded carving.

An honorable mention award in the Wood Carving - Open category was given to Bonsall's Donna Dellinger for "Macho Bowl", a deep asymmetrical bowl made of avocado wood.