I can’t resist materials. I started as a kid, working with paper and cardboard, and my eyes were opened by the discovery of my first good junkyard. Sometimes, my primary motivation for a project may simply be working in a new medium. The tricycle was all about steel and welding, the stained glass about… well, stained glass (and its extraordinary properties). My interest in lighting started with the need to procrastinate while writing my dissertation. Many of my project are a form of exploration (see notes).
Project Notes
The tricycle: I wanted to learn how to weld, and needed a suitable project. I was a big biking enthusiast (still am), so designing a recumbent tricycle seemed like a good idea. My friend Justin Aborn and I built it together in 1978 and did a major restoration in 2013 in anticipation of hanging it in the art/design studio at Milton Academy, where it was built and where I hope it will inspire students to think creatively. Here’s a poster that shares a bit more of the story and highlights some of its unique design features.
Stained glass: I can’t get over the visual qualities of stained glass and took at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education to learn about it. This piece, my final project, used some new and some bits of antique glass in an attempt to capture the rich and subtle colors at dusk. It’s a view of Padanaram, looking out toward the breakwater.
The wherry (rowboat): I encountered my first wherry in the process of learning to row a schell. The boats on which this design was based were originally used as fast water taxis on rivers like the Thames. This boat can be rigged as a single or a double. My son and I built it during a week-long class led by Woodenboat instructor Geoff Kerr at Chesapeake Light Craft in Annapolis. In addition to wanting a boat like this, I enrolled because of interest in learning the “stitch and glue” boatbuilding technique.