// Plateau Desk //

Walnut plywood, black walnut, eastern maple

50” x 22” x 42”

2016

// Horizon Shelf //

Maple, cherry, walnut plywood, alder, walnut, white oak

20” x 5.5” x 7.5”

2015

The dilapidated brick wall of a warehouse in Austin, Texas, with multiple decades of graffiti layered on top of each other, crumbling walls

and jutted rusted rebar, resembles in a strange way the same motion of a branch on a grand and majestic Douglas Fir tree. Both have a rich color palette accentuated by intersecting planes and angles, creating an incredibly dynamic and interactive experience. It is the mediation between the forgotten corners of our built environment and the ancient and magical world of the rainforest that has inspired my work in this program. I am drawn to both, and see beauty in both. Walking through the forest gives me a deep sense of belonging and purpose. I have had these same feelings when walking through Brooklyn in the middle of the night, or on an abandoned train bridge in downtown Austin. The urban exploration tends to be more kinetic and energizing, while the forest inspires a much more calm and centered perspective. Still, there is something that unites these experiences on a fundamental level. The way in which these different environments inform one another and collide creates something fresh and new. The unifying factor for me is the mystery. I will never be able to replicate the way all the Fir tree’s branches sway in that certain way, or the history of one chipped layer of paint on that train bridge revealing half a letter of a name written 30 years ago. All I can do is embrace the mystery for what it is, and do my part to keep it going.