Rusty Moon by Denis Randall. Website here.
Looking back, trying to remember when I first became enamoured with old worn and weathered wood I immediately think of a large table standing in our spacious farm kitchen. It had a wonderful scarred and scrubbed surface with a shiny patina along the edges and there was always a wad of folded newspaper wedged under one leg to keep it steady. It was used for everything from the stacking of eggs, decanting of milk, kneading of dough, the stirring of cake mix, the cooling of jars brimming with hot berry jam, the making of sandwiches on dipping day, the writing of childish novels and homework, the sorting of wild flowers to press between pages of tatty cook books to the eating of simple suppers after the long drive from the city. I can remember my step father mentioning that Duncan, his father had made the table from old floor boards. This really intrigued me, since it actually meant we were eating off the floor!
Crusty Present by Denis Randall. See more assemblages made from reclaimed wood, here.
Crusty Present by Denis Randall. See more assemblages made from reclaimed wood, here.
Driftwood Assemblage by Ngaio Lenz. See more of Ngaio's work on her Flickr photo stream, here.
Wood Assemblage by Alton Falcone. See website here.
"By transforming a ruined object (such as recovered wood) into a harmonious composition, the work becomes a symbol of the positive view of time: this is a history on which we reflect, learn and grow. This is wisdom." - Alton Falcone
Wood Assemblage by Alton Falcone. Website here.
New Foresty Module by Henry Deposit. See larger images 
Keeper of the Words by Ken Munsie. See blog post and more images here.
Assemblage by George Peterson who creates works of art from reclaimed skate boards.
George Peterson. See more intriguing pieces made from reclaimed skateboards here.
Love these . . what a story these worn and weathered pieces of wood could tell, as in your table. The possibilities are amazing. When I first saw Ngaio Lenz work, I asked my son who lives on the Atlantic, to save driftwood pieces for me!
ReplyDeleteI love this post - wood is so warm and alive! And I especially love your story at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, Robyn, what I love about your blog is the way you gather together all your favourite pieces by other artists and then put them together in a perfect art exhibition for us all.
ReplyDeleteLoved the story about the kitchen table and the various assemblages are so beautiful.
ReplyDeletethis post resonates with me as well.. i can see why you are so drawn to working with wood. My tables and furniture in my home are made from old barn wood..i love that weathered worn look full of history and memories...plus it is indestructible..
ReplyDeleteWonderful patinas and rustiness....
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! I love all things old and weathered and used, I love wood and rust and peeling paint :-). Thank you for all this beauty and as always kisses to Digby :-).
ReplyDeletexoxo
luv wood.
ReplyDeleteluv artists' ingenious
visions realized
yes, 'charmed lives'
Thank you for posting these. So wonderful, creative and inspirational.
ReplyDeleteyes, yes yes, love the weathered wood...
ReplyDeleteWonderful and inspirational. My first love is worn wood. Mentally I can feel the texture, without having to touch it. I have wanted to work abstractly with all the barn wood around me in Vermont. I need to get a table saw! (I need to lose my fear of them next...)
ReplyDeleteyou make me want to go collecting worn wood! the kitchen table story is just right! we have a 10ftx24 inch table which a craftsman made for us of various parts of old tables. it has served as porch table, dining table and now is my art table where I can paint at one end dry in the center and cut at the other end!. I'll try to take a pic for you! thanks for showing us such grand works!
ReplyDeleteLove all this weathered (drift)wood!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.
Great collection of weathered wood art!
ReplyDeleteI'm always tempted by the wonderful driftwood on our beaches, but these pieces are massive and very heavy - I can't lift them.
the present has to be my favorite. it's the bow. :) don't know how you pull all these great things together, you always do it so well. thank you ....PJ
ReplyDeleteas much as i love worn and weathered wood, i don't think i love it a bit more than henry deposit's name...
ReplyDeletexoxo
R- stunning post - the creativity of some people is awesome. Of course the texture of reclaimed materials including wood is so full of character, stories, texture etc etc - I could rave a bit more but won't. Lovely to see Ken's piece featured - he is doing great work with the wood and reclaimed paper and metal. And I loved the idea of eating off the floor. Thanks. Go well. B
ReplyDeleteLovely collection of old and wonderful wood. Our kitchen table is an old round cedar table we bought about 50 years ago when we were first married it was pretty battered then and we sanded it back, cost us about 8 pounds, John cut up the sheep on it and sometimes cut into the wood, the children scratched their names on it. We still eat at it and yes it is a typical farm house table, worn and used. I was terribly annoyed once when a well meaning stock agent took me to task for using it as I did.. it was a CEDAR table! It was my cedar table and if he had bothered to look the rest of the house had looked after good cedar, but it was our decision to bring to life a very battered table that has done us well for so long. The ironic thing is no wants so called 'brown furniture' any more.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Robyn!
ReplyDeleteI so loved reading about your 'eating off the floor'.
:-)
And I know that table by heart. We had one similar.
I love all things old and all things wooden. Really enjoyed viewing the reclaimed skateboards.
This house we are remodeling is full of beautiful, old weathered wood. Many admire it, but more say they couldn't bear to live with so much wood. Interesting, isn't it?
Jann, Ngaio's work is amazing isn't it? She has a talent for assembling pieces in a way that really tugs at my heart.
ReplyDeleteThanks Heather, I'm glad you understand this attraction to all things wooden.
Weaver, thank you.
Dyche Designs, glad you enjoyed the post.
Lisa, I'm also remembering our old school desks scarred and stained with messages and ink. Hated them at the time but wish I had a few now.
Valerianna, indeed!
Annie, Digby is thriving! He has more than doubled his weight. A little thug!
Neva, artist's ingenious vision ....Hooray!
Thanks Denise.
ReplyDeleteCat, wood love!
Robin, I want a table saw too but my husband insists that I will be a danger to myself.
Lyle, your table sounds like my dream table. We were just talking about getting another old battle scarred table for the veranda. One that we don't have to worry about getting rained on or carved on. I would love to see a pic of your table!
Cerulean, glad you enjoyed the post.
Sue, some would be very interested in dragging those massive pieces off your beach for art :-)
PJ, the present is wonderful isn't it?! I love Denis's work!!
Lynne, I have been wondering about Henry's name too...
Barry, I don't mind if you rave! It's wonderful to share images with people who understand this infatuation with wood.
Penny, your table is marked by the history of your life on the farm..... a far more interesting table than one that is pristine and without soul. I'm always drawn to farm tables and have to run my hand over them to feel the history.
Babs, as far as I see it, wood tells a story. Enjoy your new house. It sounds warm and inviting. Must be all the wood!
So lovely to see your choosen treasures again, dear Robyn, enjoy your sunday! xo from FM
ReplyDeleteWonderful wood composition.
ReplyDeleteYou bring the wood back to life.
I have a farm-table state of mind, although not a physical farm table. It seems that worn, patinaed wood is a powerful substance even in the imagined state. I love that wood remains reactive long after it has left the tree for its first repurposing. It shrinks and swells with changes in the weather as do we all. Thanks for a beautiful posting, which provoked a lovely dilly-dally ramble from my usual routine.
ReplyDeleteI love this stunning collection of wood art Robyn! Your farm table memories make a intriguing table. I use the most beat up table I can find here, while a "fine" dining table sits in storage. I prefer my tables to have stories too! So much of life revolves around them.
ReplyDeleteoh... and meant to congratulate you on making the cover... cannot wait to see your work... xx
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite is the story of your kitchen table..A wonderful story..Thank you for always sharing such wonderful artist.
ReplyDeleteLove your story of the table... eating off the floor, great stuff! Inspiring images just makes me want to go and make something with weathered wood.
ReplyDeleteRobyn, you and I love the same art-- the weathered, worn, torn, rusty, rustic wabi sabi stuff.. and you have wonderful examples here.
ReplyDeleteI've always been drawn to anything weathered especially wood. I adore the pieces you've included in this post. I need to go back and take another look!! : ))
ReplyDeletethe wood... then the compositions....so much to delight in here Robyn!
ReplyDeletehope you are 'powering along' this week1
x
Gorgeous weathered wood art.
ReplyDeleteThis collection is perfect for what I am attracted too ~ weathered, worn, rusty and grungy. Thanks for this wonderful post, Robyn.
Wow - every piece could sit happily with me. Why do we love weathered wood so much?!! Reminds me of beach walks next to old jetties and piers that get carved by the sea and those rare driftwood finds that I can't help but lug home.
ReplyDeleteFabulous post, I'm so lucky to have been surrounded by driftwood here tho getting harder to find now.
ReplyDeleteMy parents dragged his nursery table (our dining table) to the States in the 60's but left it behind in the 70's when we returned to England. So when we saw 'ours' a French carved on farmhouse table we had to have it & added our own stories. I probably 'stroke' it every day ;)
Thanks for your encouraging words.
Robyn....beautiful and weathered histories in wood. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThanks La Wendula.
ReplyDeleteArt at Chesterbrook, Thank you.
Laura Tringali Holmes, glad you enjoyed your dilly-dally ramble :-)
Leslie, just recently we sold our small oak dining room table which I bought before we were engaged, and replaced it with a bigger 8 to 10 seater. Big mistake! I miss the old table which had so many stories to tell.
Katelen, glad you enjoyed the post.
Kim Schoenberger, it's when to know when to draw the line. Inspiring images can motivate me to work or on the other hand they keep me glued to the computer screen for far too long.
ReplyDeleteDonna, the worn and weathered wabi sabi stuff seems to be a trend at the moment..... though I have always collected these bits and pieces, I can now bring them out and display them.
Hi Manon, great to "see" you!
Sophie, it's been a good week with the power on most days..... though water is a different story.
Gaby, grungy is good :-)
Annie, I think the memories of beach walks have a lot to do with our attraction to these driftwood assemblages.
Emma, your beach meanderings on the Isle of Skye create wonderful images in my mind. There must be something so magically different about beach combing in your neck of the woods.
Patti, I'm wondering how your rock series is progressing.
I love the authenticity of wood, and when it's weathered it's even better. Thanks for sharing Robyn
ReplyDeleteI have tried to comment a few times here, and google bounces me off.
ReplyDeleteI love your words, describing your childhood, the table as the floor and vice versa... As always, these are lovely choices, too. After seeing the absolute destruction wind and water brought of Hurricane Irene to my area, my emotional response to this art shifts.
i can't believe the beautiful work by these amazing artists. thank you for introducing me to them.
ReplyDeletei was especially touched by Ken Munsi's work.
all simply lovely!
Thank you for this post. Very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteRobyn - these images sing deep and powerful songs; so much memory so much experience. I love them all and want to reach out and touch them. Somehow old and worn stuff is so much more approachable than shiny new stuff; and so much more beautiful I think. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteDear Robyn-I just adore your story about your old and worn childhood table...I was transported to the place that nurtured all of your creativity and passions for life.Yes...weathered wood is just so alive and beautiful with ages held withing...holding and telling all our stories. as always...inspired coming over here and getting lost in your links. Big hugs across the miles. xxx
ReplyDeleteHey there, You have done a fantastic job. I will certainly digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I am confident they'll be benefited from this website.
ReplyDelete