Nice Surprise
Monday, October 10, 2011
Labels: Diesel Motorcycle, Kawasaki Enduro, Yanmar
Trashiness
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Greenpoint Lodge in Greenpoint, Brooklyn hired me to create a custom trash enclosure. Their three trash bins had been on the loose, distracting from an otherwise smart looking facade. I took this as an opportunity to not only hide the bins, but add to the aesthetic of the yard. The trash enclosure is made primarily of angle-iron steel for the frame and white oak and birch branches to fill in the panels (If you live in the area you might be wondering who pruned your local trees...)
The top opens up for filling the bins and then the front opens out to pull the bins to the curb. I struggled with the design to keep its functionality, but also to maintain a consistent one inch border around each facade. Leaving a gap on the front face was a last minute decision to facilitate quickly disposing of small objects. The swinging doors shown in the sketch got nixed to make it less appealing for pedestrians to use the bins. Also, the final placement was changed to display the unit at a better angle, free up more space in the yard, and move it further away from the sidewalk.
Labels: Greenpoint Lodge, Patrick Dougherty, Trash Enclosure
Washington Heights Table
Monday, August 22, 2011
I help a lot of people move with my van. Maybe I've helped you move!? During the last move I did, my friend was carrying in a piece of furniture, and her new housemate said, "I have all the same furniture you have! Isn't that funny?" Well, not really... all of their furniture was from Ikea, as is most of New York City's. Not to knock Ikea, though. I actually find myself there often, as well. They have unbeatable prices and innovative designs. However, you can't escape the homogenizing factor. Also, what happens when you need a table of particular dimensions and it's nowhere to be found? Back to the good old days!
Someone needed a table to fit in a corner in her kitchen and could not find one that was the right size. She contacted me after her mother saw the table I built for Ken Steinkamp. I designed a table for her using square steel tubing for the base and a plyboo (bamboo plywood) top. I tried to reclaim the top from an old piece of furniture, but it seems like the vast majority of sideboards, desks, bed headboards, etc. max out at 20". This one needed to be 22". The dimensions are 42"(length) x 22"(width) x 36"(height). I gave the steel a black patina and wax finish. I stained the top and sealed it with a poly finish.
Labels: Bamboo, Patina, PlyBoo, Steel Table
Diamonds in the Rough
Monday, June 13, 2011
I spent the first 3 weeks of May in Richmond, VA, living in an old carriage house and working with Patrick Dougherty at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. The whole process of building the sculpture was captured with time lapse cameras and then edited by Richmond Time Lapse. My band, Election Night, is honored to have the instrumental version of our song Pistons Fire chosen as the soundtrack to the video. Randee Humphrey, the garden's director of education, did a fantastic job spearheading the whole project and Patrick produced an awesome sculpture! The cast of volunteers was a group of hearty, dedicated, tireless people who did a tremendous amount of work and deserve many thanks. Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is absolutely breathtaking. If you have a chance stop in, it's right off of I-95.
Labels: Election Night, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Patrick Dougherty, Richmond Time Lapse Richmond VA
Juniperphile
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
phile/file/phile/file... Greenpoint's bounty of endless scrap metal has led to another creation. Sparrow - salon and body work has been greening their storefront with some choice plants and I had the pleasure of building a reclaimed-steel planter box to sit above their main window. I sliced and diced some discarded filing cabinets, found sitting out on a curb, and welded them back together into this planter to house these three junipers. The surface has a gun-bluing patina and is otherwise left to rust to match the rest of the facade. If you need any extra inspiration to "get your hair did," please refer to Wesley Willis's - Cut the Mullet. Check out Sparrow's glowing reviews for both their salon and body work. Photo credits and photoshop doctoring courtesy of Caroline Bach.
Labels: Sparrow salon and body work.
The Bower
Thursday, March 31, 2011
DC Greens has put together an amazing garden and outdoor classroom at the Stoddert Elementary School in Glover Park, DC. Having seen Patrick Dougherty's sculptures, Natural History (Brooklyn Botanic) and Easy Rider (Dumbarton Oaks), they knew they wanted a stick sculpture for the entryway to their Garden. Patrick Dougherty is generally booked for about two years in advance, so offered me the opportunity and honor to stand in and make a sculpture in his place. As with all of these sculptures, it takes a crew, and for every step along the way there was help. From the first day, harvesting material in Maryland, to the last sponsored meal at Whole Foods, there were volunteers eager to lend a hand in every way. Here is a blog for the garden and photos of the construction process of the sculpture. Special thanks to Patrick Dougherty, Sarah Bernardi, Lauren Shweder Biel, and Jim Coleman, for allowing me to take saplings from his woods.
Labels: DC Greens, Patrick Dougherty, Stoddert Elementary
You got a problem, yo I'll solve it....
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
I was presented with a problem: a clutter and a TV/DVD setup that was hard to access. I came up with this new design as a solution. This is the first build I have done where the wood and glass are inset into square tubing versus lying on top. The top level of each shelf is totally flush with the metal frame that supports it.
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