Pearls on the Rough

40 x 6 x 3 in., steel, pearls, charred oak, 2023
$575

On this totem a single gray-blue pearl accents each of five steel plates rusted to a deep umber. Far from blank, each gritty plate is written over with scars, marks of weather and time. Together they are rhythm, the same form over and over, but each its own variation on the theme. Fresh, bright steel brightens each edge. Altogether the totem is calculated for calm. By itself, in your bedroom or bath, it will be a gentle companion morning and evening. Set in a group, it will be the anchor that binds the whole.

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.