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Process Posts

Drift Inversion in Hi-Fructose Magazine

September 18, 2020 by David

 

Drift Inversion in Hi-Fructose Magazine
Hi-Fructose Vol. 56

In support of Hi-Fructose’s Instagram spin-off @Hifructose.littleboxes ,the renowned art magazine, published a full page photo of Drift Inversion. Being included in Hi-Fructose is a dream come true. For me, it is the magazine that revived my faith in the contemporary art world. Showcasing contemporary artwork executed by artists with mind boggling skills and discipline. The magazine shows the best of what the art world has to offer. Being included  makes me feel that all the years of battling to keep growing as an artist have been well worth the effort. Big thanks to everyone who helped get this far.  You can get your copy here!

Drift Inversion sculpture

This was a project I did with my long time collaborator Aaron Whelton.  He is now a full Professor of Architecture at Portland State University.  Aaron is an amazing creative partner and good friend.  We also had a lot of help from family and friends.  More can be read about this installation and its creation here and here.

David Franklin and Aaron Whelton in Colorado
Aaron and I in Colorado

Where is Drift Inversion?

Located in Denver, Colorado on Central Park Boulevard. It is in the underpass between 53rd and 54th and can be accessed from the bike path on the Northfield Highschool side. It can also be accessed from the parking on the northwest side of the 54th intersection.

Map showing location of Drift Inversion

New Little Boxes

In the Spirit of Hi-Fructose Little Boxes I thought it would be  good time to preview a new sculpture series that is in the works. Some projects have been delayed due to the current state of the world. Others projects have continued to slowly creep along. This is one of the most exciting things in the works because if its location and huge scale.  It will be installed at the Tetra Hotel  in Sunnyvale, California in cooperation with T2 Hospitality and Andrea Schwartz Gallery

 

Early renderings show the scale of these installations.

Current physical scale models of the installation.

This and other exciting new projects will be coming soon!

David Franklin

Filed Under: Installations, News, Process, Public Art, sculpture Tagged With: Aaron Whelton, Aluminum, david franklin, Denver, Denver Parks, hi-fructose, hi-fructose little boxes, hi-fructose magazine, Park Creek Metropolitan District, public art, public art year in review, sand dunes, Sandhills Prairie Park, sculpture, Stapleton

Weaver’s Welcome at the Burke Museum

January 4, 2020 by David

How Weaver’s Welcome came to be…

Weaver’s Welcome                                             photo by Myrna Keliher

Finding inspiration at the Burke Museum

The Burke Museum holds a very special place for indigenous people in the Northwest.  It is a must see for anyone interested in the study of the history of the region.  It has long been the home of some of the best minds in Anthropology in the Northwest.  The Burke Museum has been home to such noted experts as Bill Holm, Robin Wright and now Katie-Bunn Marcuse.   The Museum at the University of Washington has long been recognized as the place to find out about just about anything about this region.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: carving, Installations, News, Process, Public Art, sculpture Tagged With: Anthony Jones Sr., Art, Brian Perry, Bronze, Bullseye Glass, carving, Cast Glass, Classic Foundry, david franklin, Fire Arts Glass Studio, Indianola Washington, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Port Gamble S'Klallam Canoe Family, Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, Portland Oregon, Preston Singletary, public art, Ray Ahlgren, Seattle, The Burke Museum, Tlingit, University of Washington, Washington

Flight of the Spectrum

April 16, 2019 by David

Flight of the Spectrum Sculpture
Flight of the Spectrum is installed at The Seattle World School in cooperation with WashingtonState Arts Commission

Seattle World School

In this school we learn to fly together, no matter where you come from.

A couple of years I was contacted by the Washington State Arts Commission about creating a project for a newly remodeled school in Seattle.  I had no idea at that time what an amazing opportunity this would be, or what an incredible place Seattle World School is.

” It is one of only a few schools in the country designed as a preliminary entry point for immigrant children in their quest for academic achievement and full participation in American society.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Installations, News, Process, Public Art, sculpture Tagged With: Aaron Whelton, america, Art, birds, colors, craft, david franklin, edication, flight, flock, high school, refugees, sculpture, Seattle world school, spectrum, Washington State Arts Commission, welcome, woodworking

Art Collaborations with Preston Singletary and Brian Perry

December 5, 2018 by David

Collaborating

Over the last couple of years it has been my fortune to collaborate on public art projects with two exceptional artists, Brian Perry (Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe) and Preston Singletary (Tlingit) These projects have made me become a better artist and it has been a dream come true to work on a large scale with artists that I have admiration for.

"Paddles Up" sculpture at The Point Hotel and Casino by Brian Perry
“Paddles Up” sculpture at The Point Hotel and Casino by Brian Perry

[Read more…]

Filed Under: collaborations, Installations, News, Process, Public Art, sculpture Tagged With: Alaska, Anchorage, Boney Courthouse, Brian Perry, david franklin, Eagle, Glass Art, Indigenous art, metal, Oregon, Paddles, Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, Portland, Preston Singletary, public art, RACC, Raven, S'Klallam, sculpture, The Diane Apartments Portland, The Point Hotel and Casino, Tlingit

New Installation “Sculpture in the Garden”

July 19, 2018 by David

The Crouching Figure Post
The Crouching Figure

The Back Story

This installation was made for the garden of a neighbor who travels the world collecting and teaching about exotic plants.  He has thereby created an amazing garden at his home in Indianola WA.  We have worked together on several projects over the years.  He was interested in a series of posts for installation in his garden.   He was interested in evoking some of the spirit of the Janseung  (a type of totem-like carving from Korea) that he has encountered in his travels.  Starting  at this point I began to research and draw.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: carving, Installations, News, Process, sculpture Tagged With: Art, carving, craft, garden art, indianola, Indianola Washington, primitivism, sculpture, tentacle, windcliff, woodworking

Drift Inversion Wins PAN Year in Review Award

June 16, 2018 by David

Drift Inversion Sculpture
Drift Inversion by David Franklin and Aaron Whelton 2017

Drift Inversion by David Franklin and Aaron Whelton Honored Today at Americans for the Arts Annual Convention

Portland, OR, June 15, 2018—Americans for the Arts today honored outstanding public arts projects created in 2017 through the Public Art Network Year in Review program, the only national program that specifically recognizes the most compelling public art. Chosen by public art experts, the roster of selected projects was unveiled this morning at Americans for the Arts’ Annual Convention in Denver.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Awards, Installations, News, Process, Public Art, sculpture Tagged With: Aaron Whelton, Aluminum, americans for the arts, Art, david franklin, Denver, Denver Parks, Drift Inversion, Park Creek Metropolitan District, public art, public art network, sand dunes, Sandhills Prairie Park, sculpture, Stapleton

David Franklin and Aaron Whelton’s Drift Inversion Installation in Denver’s new Sandhills Prairie Park

May 31, 2017 by David

Large scale Abstract Inverted sand dune sculpture

When I was a kid in Colorado, my family would travel almost every weekend to my grandparents’ antique shop in Silver Plume or to the family cabin in Pine. Those drives into the Rocky Mountains always took us through tunnels that marked our ascent into a different world from the plains below. That memory played a role in my choosing the pedestrian underpass in the Sand Hills Prairie Park at Denver’s Stapleton Airport as the site for this installation with my friend and co-designer, Aaron Whelton. Located in a relatively cold, windy, and unwelcoming part of the park, this tunnel seemed like the perfect setting to create an inviting, engaging space. Our challenge was to develop a concept that related to the natural history of the area.

Long before Stapleton’s runways and facilities transformed the area into a busy urban landscape, this particular corner of the Denver metro area was covered in sand dunes. They were my inspiration for “Drift Inversion,” a 23′ x 128′ installation that turns the original landscape upside-down to create a surreal experience for any visitor who happens upon the underpass.

 

Design and fabrication

In a previous post I shared some of the preliminary design renderings that Aaron and I created for the project proposal. Once those were approved, we focused on working out the endless details with the City of Denver’s engineers, my engineers at IDE, and my fabricator Kurt Nordquist at DaVinci’s Workshop.

Aaron Whelton working with two monitors
Associate Professor of Architecture at Portland State University, Aaron Whelton

technical drawings for Drift Inversion by Aaron Whelton
Technical drawings for Drift Inversion by Aaron Whelton

Each of the sculpture’s 258 aluminum “fins” is unique. To keep track of their specific locations, we assigned a number to each piece to identify its place in the length of the tunnel, and a corresponding letter to identify whether it went on the north or south side. These identifiers were added as each fin was water-jet cut, and we took great care to keep consecutive numbers in groups to make the installation process easier.

Water-jet cutting pieces of the Drift Inversion sculpture from 1/4"x 4' x 12' sheets of aluminum
Cutting fins from 1/4″ x 4′ x 12′ sheets of aluminum at DaVinci’s Workshop, Burien WA

Water-jet cut pieces of aluminum that make up the Drift Inversion sculpture
Fins after the water-jet cutting process

Once the cutting was complete, Jonathan Arreola, Juan Sanchez and Joshua Arreola, at Northwest Custom Auto Body in Burien did the painting.

Painting in progress
Painting in progress (Photo credit: Jonathan Ariola)

While Jonathan finished the painting and we readied the fins for transport to Ship/Art in Denver for warehousing, Rio Grande Co. (also in Denver) was busy gathering all the hardware and fabricating the 1,548 galvanized steel brackets we would need for the installation. In the end, the project required nearly 12,400 individual elements (nuts, bolts, washers, bushings, and other hardware) including the fins, which, by themselves, weighed nearly 16,000 pounds.

One ton of brackets and a palate of nuts and bolts and 019 feet of unistrut
One ton of brackets, a pallet of nuts and bolts, and 910 feet of Unistrut

Installation work truck
The installation work truck

Structural installation begins (despite the weather)

The pedestrian underpass that houses “Drift Inversion” provides a glorious window to the Rockies in the West and a portal for viewing incredible rainbows in the East. It also seemed to focus and intensify the weather we experienced during installation. Every kind of Colorado spring storm imaginable passed through during that two weeks: heavy snow and bitter cold, a downpour with jawbreaker-sized hail, steady rain, 80-degree days…you name it, we had it.

Work began on a frigid, windy Friday morning that evolved into a very snowy weekend. Despite the enormous challenges of working overhead in the biting cold, Mike Adcock of Adcock Concrete in Grand Junction, CO, and his helper, Alexandro, did an incredibly accurate job installing all of the structural elements that ultimately would support “Drift Inversion.”

Mike Adcock and Alexandro, from Adcock Concrete in Grand Junction, CO, install the unistrut
Mike and Alexandro installing the Unistrut with drill in anchors every 18″

My brother, Bryan Franklin, and my brother in-law, John Wilson helping Mike Adcock install the Unistrut and brackets

Unistrut and bracket installation nearly completed
Unistrut and bracket installation nearly complete

Over three days, the crew installed 1,500 brackets and nearly 1,000 feet of Unistrut.

from the left, Bryan Franklin, David Franklin, Aaron Whelton, Mike Adcock
From left: Bryan Franklin, me, Mike Adcock, and Aaron Whelton

Final assembly begins

Once all the structural elements were in place, it was up to the Franklin family and some devoted friends to install the sculpture’s 258 fins. It was a truly epic process, supported from the sidelines by many folks bearing hearty lunches and words of encouragement, including my high school friends Chris Flores and Heidi Gartland, Bruce and Tricia Gallagher, my mom, and my sister in-in law, Brooke.

The first two of 258 aluminum pieces to be installed
The first two pieces installed

Working with my brother Miles. Photo by Heidi Gartland
My brother Miles and me (Photo credit: Heidi Gartland)

Assembling Drift Inversion with Aunders Mavis
Adding another fin with Aunders Mavis

Drift Inversion in progress
The work in progress

David Franklin holding one of the Drift Inversion fins. Photo by Bryan Franklin
Just me and a fin (Photo credit: Bryan Franklin)

My Dad came to the rescue
Me and my dad, who came to the rescue

Two weeks later, after installing tons of aluminum and tightening thousands of nuts and bolts, “Drift Inversion” was complete. After two weeks of installing tons of aluminum, and tightening thousands of nuts and bolts, the project was complete.

This 23' x 128' installation is an inverted sculpture of sand dune forms. It is installed in a pedestrian underpass tunnel under Central Park Boulevard between 53rd and 54th in Denver, Colorado
The completed “Drift Inversion” installed in the pedestrian tunnel that runs under Central Park Boulevard between 53rd and 54th in Denver, CO

Panoramic view of “Drift Inversion”(photo credit: Miles Franklin)

Drift Inversion detail
“Drift Inversion” detail

 

 

Abstract photo of yellow Drift Inversion sculpture and blue sky
“Drift Inversion” (Photo credit: Miles Franklin)

A few more thanks

There were so many helping hands involved in this project. I acknowledged some people earlier in this post, but would be totally remiss if I didn’t mention the invaluable support of these folks, too: My truly amazing wife, Joanne; the quintessential art professional, Barbara Neal; Alexander Abel with Adcock Concrete; and all of the members of the Park Creek Metropolitan District Public Art Committee who made this installation possible. Thank you all!

David

Filed Under: Installations, News, Process, Public Art, sculpture Tagged With: Aaron Whelton, Aluminum, Denver, Denver Parks, Drift Inversion, dunes, metal, North Stapleton, Park Creek Metropolitan District, public art, sand dunes, Sandhills Prairie Park, sculpture, Stapleton, Whelton Architects, Whelton Architecture

New sculpture in development for Denver

March 31, 2016 by David

I am currently working with Aaron Whelton  on a new public art sculpture project for Sand Hills Prairie Park in the Forest Hills development in Stapleton.  Not far from where I grew up and went to high school, this is an amazing opportunity to get back to my home town and get to practice my craft.  What we are envisioning will transform an otherwise mundane space into something exceptional.  This is a preview of what we have in mind.

The site for the project is this pedestrian underpass in Sand Hills Prairie park with Central Park Boulevard running over it.

Pedestrian Underpass at Sand Hills Prairie Park
Pedestrian Underpass at Sand Hills Prairie Park under construction

The theme of the park is based on sand hill landscape formations that existed in the area before the building of Stapleton Airport.  The concept emerged from the idea of sand formations.  We designed a sculpture of sand dunes that will be approximately 116′ long and 23′ wide.  The model looks like this.

preliminary model for Sand Hills Prairie Park
preliminary model for Sand Hills Prairie Park

The sculpture will be hung from the ceiling of the tunnel for a very surreal effect as you move through the space.

Rendering of the Dune Sculpture from the entrance of the pedestrian underpass
Rendering of the Dune Sculpture from the entrance of the pedestrian underpass

Rendering from the opposite entrance of the Dune Sculpture concept in the pedestrian underpass
Rendering from the opposite entrance of the Dune Sculpture concept in the pedestrian underpass

Rather than decorate the entrances to the overpass we wanted to transform the space inside the tunnel itself.  The sculptural members will be painted a white to brighten the space and hopefully the whole effect will make it a destination to be experienced.

 

 

rendered view from of the sculpture Inside the Central Park Boulevard underpass
rendered view from of the sculpture Inside the Central Park Boulevard underpass

The tunnel is also oriented almost due east and west which at sunrise and sunset should allow the reflective nature of the sculpture change with the light and color at different times of the day and year.

detail of the Dune Sculpture installation
detail of the Dune Sculpture installation

We are right now finalizing the design and going through all of the steps for approval required by the various stakeholders.  Keep your fingers crossed and we should be installing in the early fall 2016.

 

David

Filed Under: Installations, News, Process, Public Art, sculpture, Uncategorized Tagged With: Denver, dunes, Forest Hills, public art network, sand dunes, Sand Hills Prairie Park, sculpture woodworking, Stapleton

Making “The Ghost School”

February 1, 2016 by David

Closeup of one of the vitreous china sharks circling the dense swarm of Herring
Closeup of one of the vitreous china sharks. Made at a John Michael Kohler Arts/Industry Residency 2015.

Why make a ceramic school of fish?

The concept for “The Ghost School” came from an urge to make a hanging sculpture that captured the dense swarming beauty of a school of herring surrounded by predators. Why do these dense schools of bait fish form? Protection from predators. Since we eat what eats them, it’s these cloud-like schools of fish that we look for when salmon fishing out on the Salish Sea with my family. It’s also the kind of formation of fish that countless predators large and small seek around the world to feed on in large lakes, seas, and oceans. Flocks of sea birds will also give away where these schools of fish are as they circle and dive to feed on them.

School and PredatorBait fish or forage fish like herring, anchovies, sardines, eulachon, smelt, and alewives form a vital link between the tiny creatures they feed upon, like plankton, and the larger fish we eat, like salmon. They also support creatures like diving birds as well as whales, sharks, and many other creatures. These species are under a lot of pressure from overfishing and a number of other factors and their numbers are declining rapidly. This is the case in my neighborhood, and as they go, so do the birds and fish that feed on them. That is why this art project became “The Ghost School.” I created it to add voice to the alarm and to honor these small fish that are beginning to disappear from our waters.

The Ghost SchoolThankfully, as awareness of the issue grows, these fish have been getting some good press lately. There is a great short film made by Jesse Nichols, a talented young man from my hometown, that explains the importance of forage fish and some of the action being taken to preserve them in Western Washington. To the north, First Nations groups led by the Heiltsuk in British Columbia are leading protests agains commercial over-fishing and closing their own vital fishery to try to maintain the viability of herring stocks and to raise a greater awareness to the decline of these precious resources. Also, National Geographic recently did two articles about the struggles facing fish like these, which can be found here and here.

How I Made the “Ghost School”

Carved Fish and Shark
Carved Fish and Shark

To make the Ghost School I started with seven carved fish and two carved sharks. Each fish was a different size and had a different curved form. These were then molded, cast, fired, recast and fired again to create 16 different sized fish molds which provided the needed variety for the natural look of “The Ghost School.” Here are photos of the process:

Molding a Herring
Molding a Herring

 

 

 

Fish molds full of slip
Fish molds full of slip

Shark coming out of its mold
Shark coming out of its mold

Fish that didn't make it
Fish that didn’t make it

During my peak production my goal was to cast sixteen fish twice a day. This yielded around twenty seven good fish, as I would consistently lose several when releasing them from their molds, due to broken fins and sometimes full-on collapsing.

Support structure – or, what’s it hanging from?

I needed a structure to hang the fish from, one that could carry the significant weight of the number of fish it took to take to create the school. The school is very heavy, as all the fish and sharks are made from the same vitreous china that all ceramic Kohler products are made from (resident artists work within the factory and use all the same production materials). The structure also needed to work with the water/school of fish theme. So I enlisted my public art team of Arron Whelton and Kurt Nordquist to help design the interlocking plywood grid to support the school of fish.

Ripple support grid virtual model
Ripple support grid virtual model

I designed the lower surface of the support structure with a sculptural ripple effect that is similar to my last couple of public art projects. Visually, it serves to places the fish underwater as well as relate it to my greater body of work. The structure was hung from a steel beam used in the studios for operating chain hoists for lifting heavy objects.

The grid and string all ready for fish
The grid and strings all ready for fish

As the fish were cast and cleaned up on a daily basis, one batch was run through the drier while another batch was run through the kiln. I assembled the school slowly, adding a few fish at a time every couple of days, as they were ready.

Greenware fish on a kiln car
Fish on a kiln car heading into the fire.

Assembling the Ghost School
Assembling “The Ghost School”

Each fish is suspended from pairs of holes to ensure they do not freely rotate. The fish are supported on 250 lb braided test fishing line with antique venetian glass beads.

It took three months and 468 fish to complete the Ghost School. None of this would have been possible without the support of my amazing wife Joanne, who continues to support my crazy ideas all these years, and who took care of everything at home while I was away, most importantly our three beautiful busy daughters.

The Ghost School
Sharks surround a school of herring

The associates at the factory, whom I count as good friends, were a huge help and pleasure to work with. Also thanks to the people at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, especially Kristin Plucar. Shari McWilliams, the program tech, was indispensable. The piece will remain in Wisconsin as part of the Kohler Company collection and displayed in one of their hospitality properties for public viewing. I would like to thank Laura and David Kohler and Kohler Company for making this possible.

Finally, none of the Arts/Industry residencies would be possible without the kindness, generosity, and great vision of Ruth Kohler, who started the residency program over 40 years ago and has brought new and greater possibilities to artists like me ever since.

PS – Side Project

ceramic school of fish in a hospital ware sink
“Ghost TV”

Because every residency needs at least one side project! “Ghost TV” is a collaboration with Paul Roehrig, the caster that makes this large flushable hospital ware sink known as a “TV.” His work station was near mine and he wanted to collaborate on a piece of artwork. He has been working at Kohler for nearly as long as I have been alive and is a master of the most difficult pieces, and I was honored to be given this to work on.

Filed Under: Installations, News, Process, Residencies, sculpture Tagged With: Arts/Industry, Bait ball, carving, ceramics, craft, Forage Fish, Herring, JMKAC, Kohler, Kohler Company, sculpture, Shark, swarm

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From my first #kohlerco #artsindustryresidency 11 From my first #kohlerco #artsindustryresidency 11 years ago #ruthkohler and @jmkac changed my life and reinvented my career.  The residencies in 2011 and 2015 were two of the greatest and most fulfilling creative experiences.  @sharisamstudio was the best teacher. Photos courtesy of and by @kohler and @jmkac #tentacletable #salishsea #canoebowl #ceramics #vitreouschina #vitrolicious #sculpture #tentaclesofinstagram #dogdish #sink #slipcasting #ceramicart #cerámica #セラミック #keramika #keramiek #céramique #Keramik #ceramica #κεραμικά #seramika #קֵרָמִיקָה #سيراميك #cerâmico #karamu #เซรามิกส์ #gốmsứ
Two-Eyed #Cyclops #Squid With one eye on each side Two-Eyed #Cyclops #Squid With one eye on each side of its head giving it its cyclops appearance. Identified by #stevezissou and #teamzissou this is an #artists #rendering of the rarely sighted #creature by #davidfranklin #savethesquid #squidofinstagram #squidsisters #carving #carver #woodworking #sculpture #characterdesign #calamar #pusit #inktvis #Tintenfisch #կաղամար #oliheň #lula #烏賊 #cumi-cumi #イカ #hee #דיונון #smokkfiskur #kalmari
#Sandcasting #octopi @pilchuckglassschool thanks t #Sandcasting #octopi @pilchuckglassschool thanks to @prestonsingletaryglass with much kind help from @battyworks_artstudio and @matt_spinney who were kind enough to help me. An incredible experience to assist and be sn #artstudent for a few days in paradise with so many new friends.  Big thanks to @jessesglass for his help on this too. #glass #vidrio #szkło #Glas #ガラス #salamin #sklenka #유리 #karaihe #aniani
Reflective Horizons in Blue @ovationseattle with @ Reflective Horizons in Blue @ovationseattle with @aawhelton @ninedotarts @indianolafranklin and some good helpers from @allison.and.ross @fungidance and @jtapia509 so #stoked to see this come together in such an incredible 31st floor community space.  #sculpture #modernart #contemporaryart #parametricdesign #spacialexpansion #sculpture #Kunst #فن #艺术 #umění #sining #del'art #τέχνη #noʻeau #कला #אומנות #list #美術 #미술 #arte #ศิลปะ #Mỹthuật #мистецтво
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