Sustainable Sculptures, 2019
Sustainable Sculptures is an ongoing series of functional sculptures made from unwanted or recycled materials. Each piece is a practice in transformation, an exploration in turning the raw materials of life into something beautiful.
The above tea table was made by glueing together discarded scraps of mahogany left over from a cabinet maker, and then planing the resulting board for a smooth, even finish. The legs are thicker mahogany scraps that were connected with a mortise and tenon joint made from plain, poplar dowels.
This live edge coffee table came from an old elm tree that had been felled in the garden of my friends' house by the previous owners who had planted the tree. These friends were re-landscaping the entire yard and so they allowed me to haul away the butt and turn it into a few pieces of furniture.
My handplanes are made from scrap wood and whatever else is found laying around for a hand strap, e.g. a leather belt, a punctured cycling tube, or a bit of rope.
This cross is made from double-recycled mahogany scraps, aka the scraps from the original scraps. The leather necklace came from a retired boot string that had been used as a headband on an old hat.
Golden Plates is a functional sculpture made from an intricate piece of drift wood I collected on the beach at Salsipuedes, Baja, MX. My mom and I carried it up a steep cliffside and drove it home to Utah. I cleaned it and sanded it for months, trying to see what it wanted to become. At some point I saw a clear vision of a coffee table concept with 5 gold plates. It took another year at least before I happened upon these $1 plates at a local thrift shop. It's a reminder of how clearly vision can proceed manifestation.
Saw Dust Paintings is a series of abstract images made by mixing sawdust, wood glue, and paint and flung over recycled canvasses, purchased at local thrift shops. The saw dust was captured from trimming pine wood for the contemplative benches of my Sanctuary project. This project has also led to other experiments with sawdust as a sculptural material.
