In June 2017 I spent one month in Inverness, California, at the home of my father-in-law, renowned artist J.B. Blunk (1926–2002).
I created this collection of hand carved wooden objects using four tools: a band saw, drill, grinder and sander.
The wood is very special and historically significant. Almost all the wooden chunks I carved are off cuts from larger sculptures and seating environments made by Blunk between 1965–1990. He began working with wood in the early 1960s, first making stools and small tables and eventually earning commissions for large-scale wood environments and public works.
Blunk kept and stored the discarded chunks for decades in his workshop. I had the privilege to pull from this collection of rare woods and make an assortment of unique objects, all directed by the form and inherent qualities of the material and place.
The outcomes are made of maple, bay and walnut but mainly old-growth redwood, a soft and resilient species native to Northern California and the West Coast of North America.
Old-growth Californian redwoods are known to be the tallest and oldest living trees on earth.
If there is interest in purchasing any items of this body of work, please get in touch at info@maxfrommeld.com .