A Higher Level

32 x 3 x 3 in., steel, charred poplar, 2023
$525

Chiseled and worn, the long plate of steel that fronts this totem is an emblem of endurance. The combination of chisel strikes and hard abrasion create a texture not unlike birch bark. An organic outline  enhances the effect. A second plate floats just below the first, creating depth and doubling the pleasing organic outline. Like all totems, the base of this one is deeply charred wood. The fissures echoing the cuts hammered into the steel. 

Totems
Totems each combine simple metal elements, sometimes with other materials, in or over over charred wood. They range from 24" to 48" tall. Most are no wider than 6". They stand out several inches from the wall. Each has its own charm and interest, but they look best in groups of 5 or more. Each totem is unique. This accords with my need to invent, to create something new. Textures and forms appear again and again, but in infinite variation.

Color
I do not paint the metal in totems. I don’t need to. Steel and rusted steel alone provide a vast palette of colors: gray, blue, maroon, orange, yellow, umber. Brass and copper add warm notes of yellow, orange, and brown. Silver is white. Gold a unique butter yellow.

Materials
Most of the steel and wood I use is salvaged. The steel comes from junkyards and roadsides. It may be dented, rusted, or gouged, or have scraps of original paint. All of which communicate a strong sense of endurance and strength. Most of the wood is oak, hammered from pallets that carried industrial materials and machines. Salvage wood shows nail holes and scars here and there. These are hard-working materials that find new life in a beautiful form unlike that in their previous lives.

Burning
The charred surface of the wood recalls a Japanese technique for preserving wood siding without paint or other sealant. It's call sho sugi ban. I go a little further than with the Japanese technique, burning the wood till the surface cracks. But the char is thin. The wood beneath it remains strong.