When I go deeply enough into a series, it often ends up spawning
sub-series. And so it is that the Leafipedes have formed a
family of their own within the
Spiritus Naturalis
collection.
While it has this double-belonging, Seaside Walkabout also
stands apart in that it’s the first in this body of work to be sculptural
furniture. It’s a table, unlike its siblings
here
and
here, for both of which I purposefully tilted the leaf form and preoccupied
it with other elements, making them decidedly not-tables.
What
caused the the shift? The Orcas Island Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center, amid a
renovation of their office, requesting something lovelier than the
stodgy old counter.
This being an island, and the shoreline steps away, it was natural to give it an oceanic gist. The cedar floating leaf top with its cool, speckled
fiber surface suggests shallow water lapping up on a shore. The underside
is a warmer sand tone, like a beach below the tide.
The madrona branch legs with their bulbous tops
remind me of bull whip kelp. The bands of color
shift cooler, as if they’re descending into the
depths. A brass mesh veil hangs
below, like a keel sailing through
kelp.
Seaside Walkabout is 60" long, 36" high.