Art from Rescued Materials

Head, 1994 Wood and Acrylic

Head was created from scrap pieces of found wood--most of them from a construction project near my former home. I was driving along, passed by a home that was being remodeled, and noticed a large pile of wood overflowing in a trash can. I immediately stopped and asked if the wood was going to be thrown away. It was. The workers helped me to load quite a lot of scrap wood into my car, and I took it home--rescuing it from a terrible fate.

Let me say that it disturbs me to see so much stuff taken to landfills. Much of what ends up there is still useful; still has some life in it. To know that a large, majestic tree has given its life to become "lumber," and that a good portion of that lumber will end up in the waste bin almost brings tears to my eyes. So I took these beautiful bits of a former tree home and examined them. Soon, the shapes implied a presence. I combined them with other bits of "waste" wood that I'd gathered, and created this sculpture. I used each piece that I selected just as it was--not removing anything (not making waste), and not trying to make it too "perfect." It's not perfect. Some pieces are cracked, some are overly rough, and some lack symmetry. Not too different from many humans I know. There's something very wonderful and approachable about imperfection. It's a sign of humanity.

Much of my work with found and rescued objects is figurative. I like to draw parallels between people and objects. Turning objects into people, or figures, is a good way to achieve that goal. We are so caught up in buying, using, and tossing "things." We often feel defined by our possessions. We are also defined by what we abandon. Waste not, want not.

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