Thursday, January 29, 2015

Attain Appreciation For Natural Beauty When You Experience Modern Art Through Reclaimed Wood

By Janine Hughes


Reclaiming materials from the earth to create useful objects has been a pursuit for ages. People simply used local resources to build the tools and items they needed. In areas where trees were plentiful, the next natural step was to make things attractive. Using the colors and grain became a challenge to the inspired artist, and preserving natural beauty a must. This heritage of craftsmanship is pointedly revived in Chicago, Illinois, where many artisans are using woods reclaimed from many buildings built over one hundred years ago.

An understanding of the craftsmanship that is inherit in using this natural material in a completely new and artistic fashion comes from seeing and touching it. Appreciating modern art through reclaimed wood is a visual and tactile process. It is artists who see the ebb and flow of the lines and desire to use them beautifully. Using natural, stained or painted surfaces in combination with varied textures, many unique installations are created.

The Chicago art scene is populated with many craftsman who use a variety of woods as their inspiration. With varied textures their palette, their experimentation with salvaged pieces are filling local studios and galleries. There are handsome furniture pieces and significant works of fine art available for purchase.

It is not unusual to see texture layered upon texture to achieve a large piece. Combinations of paint or stain are used to delineate pattern and line. These are eye catching, yet encourage touch as well.

Some craftsmen focus on developing mosaics using tiny chips and slivers. This time consuming pursuit results in appealing works that can be very large once completed. Rather than creating realistic art, the overall themes are texture, pattern and design. Skilled hands and eyes mass all the disparate pieces into collective units that are quite beautiful. Not traditional in the sense of ancient mosaics, but similar in that they are intriguing to explore close up and from far away.

It is tempting to assume that all wooden creations will be geometric and angular. But the complexity of these pieces is such that when many pieces are positioned properly they can develop into flowing and even circular designs. What evolves depends completely on the whim of the person working with the tiny parts.

It is possible to harvest any cast off materials to re-purpose into beautiful pieces. Splinters, slivers and dust piles can all be used. What may have been a wall, a floor, or even the remnants remaining after cutting lumber or chopping down trees can have a new life. There is no limit to the ways these carpenter seconds will be transformed into unique new statements.

Harvesting construction discards results in repetitive geometric patterns. These have the unity of machine work. Assembling hundreds together often develops an entirely different wall surface than has been previously seen.

Seeing new life made from reclaiming recycled bits is part of exciting gallery tours in the city and surrounding areas. Purchasing works at local studios can help to protect the environment. Modern artists are focusing on finding useful ways to create with what was previously old and rejected.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment