For this project, I wanted to work with wood in conjunction with acrylic, which I’ve really found a love for working with. I needed some sturdy bookends, so I wanted to create a set that showed the landscapes of the desert and the mountains, exhibiting two almost opposite national parks but both united by mountain ranges. The set includes mountain ranges and plants native to each region. The bookends mirror each other in position but are unique in color and components. Each bookend comes with a wooden block made from Poplar wood equipped with four channels where acrylic plates are easily slid into and changed with each national park.

To make my National Park Bookends, I used Poplar wood for the base, which ended up being cut to 5.5 inch by 5.5 inch squares and 1/8 inch semi-transparent acrylic for the engraved plates. I used a laser cutter to engrave scenes on the acrylic and a table saw to carve each channel into the wood.