Friday, August 8, 2014

It Takes A House To Build A Wall

Before


I'd been living in my new neighborhood for four months, two of which were exceptionally cold. I still hadn't met most of my neighbors, so I was made more a stranger by my habit of sifting through rubble (sometimes in the rain) and driving slowly down the alley with a heavy load of house parts weighing down,and hanging out of, my Focus.

Eventually I met Joe and his wife, and they were very friendly and encouraged me to take it all away. After months in a pile, the site was finally cleaned a few weeks ago. You'd hardly know that something had stood that ground for close to a century.

...and this is how we met. (don't worry, it's brief)


After


Now the back yard is filled with old timbers, a few dozen bricks, lined with 10" trim and sash windows...and big.ass.art projects. Because if you're going to drag a house down an alley, you should do something big with it, right?

I'll spare you the 7 minute video of me scrubbing mold and dislodging multiple species of insects and their larvae, but rest assured that it exists. Also rest assured that, as a time lapse, I spent far more than 7 minutes in those particular tasks. They were easily the most arduous, but they made the rest of it more of a joy to execute.

All the lath, lapboards and trim are from the above property on Grove. Eight pieces of the tongue and groove also came from that same pile. The remaining 10 tng came from various porches and fences. The 2x4s were pulled from a construction dumpster near a downtown development. The remaining ply and board lengths were found behind an electronics company that frequently receives large items in crates.

Here's a little step by step on how I put it all together.



The final piece is roughly 8x6. It's first job will be as the backdrop in a photo booth at a wedding. It's storage is still in question.

Now to finish the other one that's hiding under that tarp...

ps. I would like to thank the Shiloh Baptist Church for their decision to raze the property. From that aged wreckage, something new was born.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

A Seussical Musical Chair ...It Rocks!

I came home one evening to find this tiny toddler's rocker abandoned against my garage door.

Its vintage stenciling has been re-made into A Seussical Musical Chair, complete with a Swiss music box by Lador.

With over 40 books to his credit, new Dr. Seuss characters are constantly making appearances in my life. Generations have grown up with these wonderfully whimsical stories.

Appearances by: The Cat In The Hat, One Fish, Two Fish, Green Eggs and Ham, and the Two Siblings.

This chair was specially refinished for Corey's Crusaders, a chair-ity auction to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

See it at The Vue on May 8, 2014

To Be Auctioned! .........update! Sold for $150

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Tardis... 50 years of Who?

Tardis trash bin
All the power tools in the garage couldn't get this thing bigger on the inside... and my screwdrivers will work on wood.

You won't be crossing dimensional barriers with this Tardis (Trash and Recycling Disposal Implementation System), but you can see the stars reflected in its windows. A salvaged glass insulator, painted on the inside, replaces the old wood pull. Throwing things away has never been so fun!

Sorry fanboys and girls, this box de-materialized when you blinked. You were warned.

Sold!
original receptacle
glass insulator as lid pull

Plant Stand into Fountain


stenciled plant stand
The original stand had an old olive paint job, (refer to this post). It was lightly sanded, heavily oiled, and received a variety of stencil applications to brighten up its drabness.

Influenced by water instead of earth, the pedestals top has been given a fine coat of wax to help resist further absorption from potting trays.

$150

detail of surface.