EAMES: The Architect and The Painter

Just saw EAMES: The Architect and Painter as part of this year's SLC Design Week.  It was a fantastic overview of the careers of the husband/wife design team Charles and Ray Eames.  (not familiar with them?  Pronounce it like 'Teams' and think bent plywood mid-century modern chairs).

They were incredibly prolific, not only with furniture design but architecture, medical splints, movies, photography, and exhibits on topics ranging from Thomas Jefferson to mathematics.

One of my favorite quotes:

“I’m a little taken aback by anyone calling himself an artist because of my feeling that that’s the kind of designation that other people should give. You can be an artist in any field, but getting a degree to call yourself an artist would be like getting a diploma to call yourself a genius."  -- Charles Eames

Repair and Restoration

Recently I've found another artistic venue -- instead of turning old bombs and car parts into furniture and sculpture, I'm turning old furniture into . . . furniture again.  I'm currently working on a series for clients (and a few for myself) that focus on either repairing old pieces to their former glory or transforming them into something new.  For example:

An original side table, with 'charming' upholstry.

The above table, re-finished and upholstered.

Detail of a Japanese cabinet set (probably from the early 1900's) where the wood panelling had split.  It had been in San Francisco (humid) and moved to Salt Lake City (dry), and the accordingly the wood contracted perpendicular to the grain causing the damage.

One of the really fun parts of restoration is finding the hidden stories of old furniture.  When I disassembled the cabinet doors, I found this writing underneath.  I haven't found someone to translate it yet, but apparently it is very old and contains the character for 'slope' -- perhaps a geographic description of where it was made, or where the wood came from?

An uncommon and difficult joint on the cabinets -- a mitered and tennoned half-lap joint. 

I'm now seeing some of my original pieces from years ago return for refinishing -- this is particularly true of outdoor furniture which sees sun, rain, and snow.

This is the bench re-finished, and now with a coat of ecologically kinder and personally healthier no-VOC finish.

New work at Gallery MAR

New work at Park City's Gallery MAR:  the Woolf Table

http://www.gallerymar.com/artists/joe-norman/

Pecha-Kucha: Inspire Japan

I recently gave a presentation at Pecha-Kucha Night here in Salt Lake.  (For a description of Pecha-Kucha, see here.)

The basic idea is to give designers and creative types 20 seconds for each of 20 slides, spreading great ideas and avoiding windbags.  Since the concept started in Japan, this particular event was a fundraiser for relief efforts there.

My presentation can be found here.  The video is a little hard to see at times, so I've included the slides below.  Enjoy!

http://www.pecha-kucha.org/

http://vimeo.com/22924704

The Woolf Table, completed

My collaboration with Stefanie Dykes referencing Virginia Woolf, recently completed --

A log of the process can be found at:
http://blueboathome.blogspot.com/2011/02/woolf-table.html
http://blueboathome.blogspot.com/2011/03/woolf-table-part-2.html

Traveling Benches, completed

For a log of the process, take a look at:
http://blueboathome.blogspot.com/2010/11/traveling-benches-part-2.html
http://blueboathome.blogspot.com/2010/10/travelling-benches-part-1.html

The Woolf Table, part 2

Progress on the Woolf Table:

Evolution Benches, part 2

These benches are made of reclaimed pallet wood and decommissioned aluminum bomb fins.  I named them the 'Evolution Benches' because I wanted a project that would represent the next step in the evolution of human interaction.

Specifically, I used symbols that resonated with a way people could interact with each other that would be more productive than the current status quo of political, religious, class, gender, and economic division and antagonism.

This is a representation of the 'Beard-Pullers' motif found in many Celtic designs.  The Beard Pullers are characters that struggle with each other to each's benefit.

These are crows, commonly used as trickster archetypes, especially in Native American tales.

This is an image of the Green Man, another Celtic design representing the change of seasons and our interaction with nature.

This is a Celtic knot, one continuous strand that weaves upon itself to symbolize the connection people, places, and things have with each other.

Many fascinating wood grain designs buried within the raw pallet lumber became apparent when the wood was milled down and finished.

The Woolf Table

One of the great things about collaborating with other artists is that ideas spring up that otherwise wouldn’t have. 

I’m working on part of an installation piece with Stefanie Dykes, a local sculptor and printmaker for a show starting this March.  The focus will be on using printmaking, paper sculpture, and reclaimed wood to create a piece about the power of literature and the womens’ rights movement.  Specifically, we’ve been looking at Virginia Woolf for inspiration.  Having a ‘room of one’s own’ (both metaphorically and physically) is important for many marginalized groups to regain their voice.

I especially like using reclaimed materials in this context.  Things that no longer serve their purpose to the larger society, whether shipping pallets or the energy that fuels misogyny, are ripe to be repurposed for a greater good.

Sketches of the overall table design

Donor pallets

The reason many pallets don't fall apart earlier is because of these spiral nails.  They also make taking them apart difficult; this table is using the wood from 7 pallets and it took 16 hours to pick out and mill down the usable wood.

Removed pallet wood  drying -- usually the wood is very well dry by the time I get it, but this had been out in the snow for a season.

The rough-cut cabriolet table legs of laminated wood.

Some of Stefanie Dykes' book sculptures to be added to the table top.