Material Memory

A wood, concrete assemblage yet to be named.

I started this piece last year, then let it sit for a while. It stayed in the studio and then in storage, unfinished, waiting for me to understand what it needed. Recently, I returned to it with fresh eyes and was able to bring the composition to a place that feels resolved.

The piece brings together wood, textured plywood, and small areas of wood glue and concrete used to fill voids. I enjoy working this way because the materials carry their own history and resistance. Some pieces are clean and geometric. Others are rough, chipped, or irregular. The final composition sits somewhere between a collage, a wall relief, and a small architectural model.

Some works need time. Not every unfinished object is abandoned. Some are just waiting for the right moment to become clear.

Low-Pressure Assemblage

Built from scraps, offcuts, fasteners. It all adds up.

This piece started as a brain dump project: a way to use scrap wood, try a few tools, and make something without the pressure of a proposal, deadline, or final outcome. I have been adding offcuts, plywood, thin strips, rounded forms, and small painted fragments as I go, paying attention to how the pieces stack, overlap, and interrupt each other.

Right now, the work is mostly about learning by doing. I have been practicing with a brad nailer and testing different fasteners. I am also thinking about adding veneer and making a French cleat for the back so the piece can hang cleanly on the wall.

It is low-profile and strictly for me, but it still connects to my larger interests in geometry, architecture, material, and how things hold together. That is probably the best part. Making a project without pressure, but not without purpose.

Sealing the Edge

Here’s a new painting in progress, Aixs X: 18 × 24 inches, spray paint on canvas. Right now, it’s somewhere between an underpainting and a blueprint.

Lately I’ve been committing to a taping method I’ve known about for years, but never fully adopted. The idea is simple: seal the tape edge first, then paint the new color. It cuts down on bleed and makes it easier to get the lines clean, sharp, and precise. Very obvious. Very useful. Occasionally, I need years to accept a good idea.

It’s worked for me before, and I think it’s going to help with where I want these paintings to go. More control. Better edges. Less fixing later. Which is ideal, because I would prefer to spend my time making the painting, not cleaning up after it.

We’ll see if the finished version gets as crisp as the sketch. That’s the goal anyway!

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