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


By Janine Hughes


Making useful items by reclaiming materials has long been considered thrifty. For generations people recycled things to make tools and other household items necessary for living. People who lived near trees used various woods because they were available. Local craftsman have developed excellent reputations for superior artistry. The same is true for the group of artisans in Chicago, Illinois who are creating lovely art pieces using recycled bits and pieces from buildings and furnishings made long 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.

Spending some time in local galleries can become the starting point for a love affair with woods. There are local artisans displaying in Chicago who understand the subtle differences in the materials they use, creating lovely furniture and fine pieces of contemporary art. For the buyer, works for sale vary as much as artistic temperament, with many choices available.

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.

Slices and chips merge to make mosaics filled with movement and rhythm. The high and low of varied sizes creates rugged yet appealing surfaces. Contrasting or complementary stain and paint colors develop thematic units in large pieces. It takes as much time to assemble these as it would to create a traditional tile version, and the final pieces exhibit similar levels of beauty. The skillful eye is able to see pictures in these small units and the hand of the craftsman is skilled to mass them into something much more important as a whole than they were as single bits of material.

Though it might be tempting to think that woods previously used in buildings could only be used for angular construction, there are many geometric shapes discovered here. The Chicago artisans have become adept at using items from simple barns and furnishings to create items with distinctive circular shapes. The trick is to see how they overlay the bits to come up with something unexpectedly fluid in appearance.

Harvesting materials that are left over after sawing lumber or cutting trees takes on a new look in the hands of the artists. Dust piles, slivers and tiny splinters are all put to good use. Some may have been part of an old building, a barn or anything made of wood. Transforming carpenter cast offs into artistic uses is what motivates the owners of many studios.

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.

Woods that lived a previous life as a functional item, yet reclaimed to make something new, are satisfying materials for those passionate about recycling. This is art that is mindful of the earth and how to protect the limited resources it has. The rejected and old become valuable modern art.




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