Pierced Diamonds

28 x 6 x 3 in. steel, charred oak, 2023
$525

This totem features an interesting piece of diamond plate steel I found recently. Beneath it floats a rust-pitted piece of square rod. The channel cut in the burnt oak board is not unusual in the oak pallet boards I use. Here it works with the thin rod to counter the strong horizonal force of the cutouts in the steel plate.

Totems are a series that combines simple metal elements 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 metal in 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.

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.

Include this totem with four or six others for a spectacular wall display.

View in person at Gallery Veronique in Montgomery, Ohio.