Wandering Fence

Just finished this fence for a walkway that winds through a forested path.  It needed to be minimal and mirror the curves of the pathway while avoiding the trees and their future growth patterns.

Pause Play Planters

I just finished a set of planters, now the search begins for the right plants to put in them.  I liked the idea of using the ubiquitous Play/FFW/RW symbols to fit with the overall shape of the curving metal.

Bike Collective sign progress

Welding's all done on the SLC Bike Collective's new marquee, now we just need a powdercoating and some lighting . . . .

Architectural Details: Windows & lights . . .

Just finished a few projects that have more of an architectural flavor to them.

A couple of window coverings, influenced by the Kanagawa Wave, surfing, and the sweet skiing out here in the Wasatch:

And a light using steel remnant cuttings from a crampon manufacturer.  After working with New Balance's fabric cuttings, I have been exploring some ideas using manufacturing remnants and was excited to try these out.  See if you can figure out what part of the crampon they're from . . .

The remnants before I started on them . . .

2011 SLC Bike Collective

Every year I give 1% of my sales back to the community in some way -- I call it the 1% For The People campaign, based loosely on the 1% for the Planet championed by companies such as Patagonia.

In past years the recipients have been KRCL (2010) and Tim DeChristopher (2009), and this year I'm donating the money and time to the Salt Lake Bicycle Collective in the form of a new marquee sign.

From the SLC Bike Collective's web site:

"The mission of the Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households."

Check them out at 2312 S. West Temple in SLC; they also have locations in Ogden and Provo.

Mock up of the sign-to-be

Wheel Trellis, completed

Just finished installing the most recent work, a trellis fabricated from bicycle wheels.

I had the good fortune to work with CJR Homes in Ft. Collins, CO for the installation; as it was a new exterior wall we could mount the anchor points directly to the framing for maximum support before the exterior and interior finish treatments were applied.  See their progress here.

My main artistic concerns were to not visually distract from the circular and organic shapes with mounting and attachment hardware, as well as use recycled (ha, ha!) materials with a finish that wouldn't look old and crumbly when matched with the new stucco finish on the home exterior.

The construction and design of the home itself I had nothing to do with, but was impressed with the re-used materials in its construction and the energy efficient details.  For example, it uses radiant heating which takes advantage of the floor's thermal mass to maintain a comfortable temperature and has siding fabricated from beetle kill wood which has some fantastic natural orange and blue coloration.

The Wheel Trellis, Part 1

 As much as I would love to claim credit for this fantastic design, the original idea started with a friend who is both a homebrewer (who needed a trellis on which to grow hops) and a cycling fiend.  My job is to actually fabricate it.

I've got stacks of wheels in my studio -- the current challenge is to figure out how to attach them to each other, allowing for more wheels to be added/removed easily and secure them to the outside of the house.  Many different clamp designs will work functionally, but are visually distracting from the circular theme.  Welding is an option, but doesn't allow as much flexibility in modifying the structure after it is installed (and different wheels are made from different metals which complicates things).  Currently I am working on a custom clamp design that is hidden within the rims and should be able to be installed with having to drill only a couple of holes.

In addition, there are brackets that will secure the entire structure to the side of the house -- each of which will have adjustments to position the individual wheels for optimal visual and structural integrity.

Reflections on Buildings

After spending close to a month in the relative quiet and solitude of rural Nevada, two weeks in Chicago is a visual adjustment.  The concept of placing a 'grid' across the landscape -- like we do with maps and property lines across the uninhabited Basin and Range -- is still on my mind.

The architecture in downtown Chicago is stunning.  The grid is present here too.