Here is an excellent slice tool from TIG...

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=42267#p374969

From the conditions:
"General/ Registration:
This competition is open to nationals and residents of the State of Qatar aged 18 years and above..."

With Artisan you can try to start like this...

eggchair.skp

I think you can pushpull, intersect with model and delete the unwanted geometry ...

I think in this video from basecamp you will find some answers and suggestions...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHCEXlEZlo4

An (empty) piggy bank...

cotty_piggy_bank.skp

Thanks to ninopiamonte, shri, d12dozr, mitcorb for your kind words. I'll try to add new examples regularly. If you have any ideas for simple geometries, let me know or feel free to share them here too...

Another example: a very simple wind flower...

cotty_wind_flower.skp

@baz said:

Just wondering how an artisan would do it

I am not shure, but I will dream of it, maybe a solution will appear ...

Here is a little boat ...

cotty_boat.skp

A curvy bookshelf...

cotty_bookshelf.skp

A simple rocket...

cotty_rocket.skp

A new post after a long time...
...but with power: a wind turbine

cotty_windturbine.skp

fast and small reader: SumatraPDF

@brewsky said:

Untill now I always tell anyone that SketchUp is the most fun piece of software I've ever used
I hope to be able to say that a year from now!

+1

"Chair" number 5 (with the help of honeycomber)...

chair_05_cotty.skp

Chair no. 4...

chair_04_cotty.skp

@baz said:

That second chair is a ripper cotty, I wouldn't mind having a go at making it for real using laminated timber.
baz

Thank you! If it was a chair of Alvydas, it would probably be beautiful and perfect textured as laminated timber . Maybe this will be a task to practice the new texturing tools out there ...

Another chair ...

chair_03_cotty.skp

Another chair from me ...

chair_cotty_02.skp

A simple plastic chair ...

chair_cotty_01.skp

little update...