Scouting

The leaves are changing, fall is here and the past two weeks have been filled with scouting…scouting for driftwood…

I’ve been checking out various areas in Northern and Western Maine and it has been absolutely beautiful – albeit the colder temperatures being blown in with gusto…

Dark skies made for dark waters…

cold days and nights…

Evenings were spent camping at various camp sites and days were spent driving down logging roads which felt (and sounded) as if they had been covered with boulders. Boulders of all shapes and sizes…so rough in fact that on the day before I was to head home, an unfortunate large bump sent my trailer ‘over the edge’ – no, not over a cliff, but over the edge of structural limitations. The trailer snapped in two.

Uh, oh…

No one is around.

Time to think. Rig it enough to get to town and get it repaired – hopefully.

Check the phone for any reception – one bar, phew…most of the week it said,  ‘no service available’…

I called where I had camped the night before – luckily, the owner, knew a welder. A good welder.

Now, I just had to get there.

It took me three hours to go only a few miles…but I made it.

The welder was better than good – he was a magician…he suggested I drive only on paved surfaces, at least until I get the boat off the trailer…

I had other plans. I still had one more spot to scout. He looked on with disbelief when he saw me pull out and turn left, instead right…

I was glad I did because I came across two more table bases and a beautiful view.

 

What a trip it was…

driftwood dining table

The weather seems to be turning, well, sort of…enough so that I am now able to work outside  (and not  be in a fully insulated suit), while listening to the crashing surf in the distance…at least while the chainsaw is off!

Time to get back out there and start collecting again, but until then I’ve started working on this piece which I think may become a base for a dining table…we’ll see what transpires…also hoping for some surf – my other passion!

What would you like to see made from driftwood?

 

Like this idea? Check out Designs Adrift for more driftwood table ideas…

Down East Magazine April Issue

We are so honored to be included in this months Down East Magazine as one of their ‘favorite pics’. We’ve been listed among some of Maine’s finest…be sure to pick up a copy.
http://www.downeast.com/magazine/2013/april/maine-accessories
Thank you Down East Magazine, what an honor.

Maine in February

I’ve finished my commissions, though still have one more on order…and have been out searching for new finds – tomorrow actually I need to enlist the help of some friends to help me heave ho a new (enormous) piece which will make for a spectacular coffee table…though while out looking Jenn took a few photos – enjoy…there is still snow on the ground and the water is frigid, but spring is on its way…and then summer!! 

Expedition…

I’ve had a good, yet intense past few days recently – I’ve just returned from a trip up north. I had packed my truck with supplies, maps and canoe and off I went, in search of driftwood…

I found some incredibly beautiful and pristine areas. The weather was very crisp (and cold – should have brought more wool blankets!) clear and calm. I mention calm because of my means of transportation – a canoe. I mean, I needed my truck to get me to these places, but then I needed a boat to get me around the lakes. These aren’t your average small lakes, no, these are enormous and definite care needs to be taken when traveling (by canoe), alone.

There is no cell service, no one else around for miles and the winds can (and do) kick up unexpectedly. But all the driving and searching was worth it!  I feel I should mention, these roads aren’t your average, well groomed roads either – no they are logging roads. It reminded me of being in parts of New Zealand and South Africa – you pray you don’t get a flat and if you do, you pray you don’t get two!  At first I was disappointed, all this traveling and nothing, but then my luck changed. I was rewarded with seas of driftwood.

Now I should also say, not all the driftwood I came across was good enough to take (same happens when I walk the coastline) and not all would be useful, though I did find some beautifully worn and perfectly shaped pieces I could use. Especially a few table bases, the challenge lay in getting these (heavy and bulky) gorgeous pieces back to camp. I had to carry (or haul, I should say) to the canoe (some days it was quite a distance from where I ended up), carefully load into canoe (I was alone remember), then paddle…need to get a small, flat bottomed boat with outboard. Hopefully soon.

I was thankful that my back didn’t give out – especially given the distances and terrain I covered with some of these stumps balanced across my shoulders! 

I would return to camp, start the fire, eat, plan the next days’ search, and go to sleep. I look forward to returning to this region, not only for its’ driftwood, but for the sheer peacefulness (and I thought where we live is quiet!), the friendly and helpful locals and the impeccable beauty. Until then, enjoy the pics of what is to become…tables, art and assemblages…

until the next project

September is the month to go out on a big explore and seek out new areas for wood – driftwood that is…there is much coastline here in Maine, much is unaccessible – either due to terrain or all those ‘private property’ signs…alas, there are some incredible spots I frequent and I’m appreciative of those…

Though, September takes me to the lakes – which ones, I’ll never tell – but there are lots of them in Maine. They hold a different wood, driftwood of course, but not the kind weathered by salt and sea, but by sun and minerals. The wood I look for has the tone and color of beach weathered driftwood, though its fresh water found…

It’s an entirely different experience than walking the coastline. While the beach has the wind and surf, the lakes also have their own winds and can kick up out of seemingly nowhere – it can make paddling a canoe interesting to say the least, there’s also the possibility of crossing paths with a moose and the bird life is incredibly diverse, the stillness (if light winds) – refreshing…so until my return, enjoy these pics of some coastline collected wood waiting for the next project (and projects!)…

Running Horse Complete

The running horse is now complete and awaiting its’ custom boxes before we ship her to DC…Check out the pics below – It’s even more impressive in person…let us know what you think.

A Maine morning…

It was a beautiful morning for an outside shoot…