New Work: April 2010 The Cabin, the Coop and the Shed

These pieces were done for a client who is in the process of remodeling a sweet little log cabin and an adjacent outbuilding.   She wanted three signs that said:  the cabin, the coop and the shed. The shed and the coop share a building, entrances at either end.  Clearly a collector, she is re-creating her life and surroundings, JUST THE WAY SHE WANTS IT.  As we talked about the project . . . life, boxes & buckles, cocktails . . . men . . . we wandered through stacks of lumber and tin, old refrigeration panels, all manner of doors,  the general chaos that construction and the creative process generate.     We're a good match  -  both creating in assemblage fashion, using repurposed materials in ways that please us.   

As we walked and talked, we gathered possible materials here and there, a beautiful brown and turquoise cowboy boot with a distinctly dog-chewed toe, some old bottle caps (and I mean old . . .  the ones with the cork inside.  I had almost forgotten that bottle caps once had cork inside), a box of wooden type letters . . . and of course, one of those seductive, heavy, metal refrigeration panels with the curved edges.  She gave me little direction but the time we spent wandering and talking, a tour of the her transformed cabin, all gave me a wonderful sense of what I thought she was looking for.  I was concerned about durability the pieces since they would be outside and this made the work more challenging.  An email changing 'the coop' to 'coop de ville' sent me in a new direction with more confidence.  I was able to use most of the materials we had collected together, as well as other choice items from my salvage yard.  I delivered the finished pieces this week and she loved them.  They were . . . "better than anything she had imagined".  In a couple of weeks, on a spring evening over wine, we'll assess and hopefully, admire the pieces in their new home.