Sentinels

Two Totems, each 28 x 6 x 3 in. steel, pearls, charred oak, 2023
$525

This pair of totems features genuine pearls gem-set on steel. The two large plates are deeply scarred and clouded with a variety of patina solutions. The smaller plates near the tops are darkened with gun bluing. The pearls are set on nickel posts soldered to the steel.  

Totems are a series that combines simple metal elements, sometimes with other materials, floated 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 totems. I don’t need to. Steel and rusted steel alone provide a vast palette of colors: gray, blue, maroon, orange, yellow, brown. Brass and copper add warm notes. Silver is white. Gold a unique butter yellow. Wood is weathered gray or charred black.

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 give the piece 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.