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The Arm of the Kraken

December 31, 2020 by David

Tentacle emerges near Bainbridge Island ferry terminal

Something interesting emerged near the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal today. A 12′ tentacle was spotted near the Marler Clark Law Office on Bainbridge Island. It seems 2021 will be the year of the Kraken. This must be a sign that more interesting things are to come in the New Year.

In 2021, Seattle’s new Hockey team, the Seattle Kraken, debut at Climate Pledge Arena. Renowned Seattle glass artist, Preston Singletary and I are collaborating on a stainless steel and glass sculpture for the new arena campus. It will be installed as part of the arena project this year at Seattle’s iconic Seattle Center .

Tentacle Inspiration

Tentacle Guardian, Windcliff Nursery, Indianola, WA

Two years ago, my neighbor Dan Hinkley, commissioned a series of carved “Guardians” for the entrance of Windcliff Nursery in Indianola WA. One of these took the form of a large carved tentacle. Similar in form to work I did in ceramics at the Kohler Factory in an Arts/industry residency almost ten years ago, these tentacles are on a much larger scale. Sculpturally, they are an exercise in form and fun.

Marler Clark

The tentacle is located at the Marler Clark law office Near the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal. They are the nation’s leading firm in foodborne illness outbreaks. They work to make sure that the food we eat will be clean and safe to consume.

Making a “Guardian” for Marler Clark seemed like a prefect project for people in the business of guarding food safety for all of us.

For the near future we all have to be the guardians of one another in our community. When you are at the ferry terminal, enjoy the “Arm of the Kraken”, and remember the crucial work being done right here.

Tentacle and Marler/Clark Law offices, Bainbridge Island WA

How to make a really big tentacle

A second-growth red cedar log was chosen for the tentacle. The log was of size and weight that some help would be needed. My friend Spencer West of West Woodworking had the log, a little bobcat to move it around with, and a place to carve.

Carving Begins

The log wast flattened on two sides so that the tentacle profile could be drawn.

Drawing the profile on the flattened surfaces

The profile is cut out

The tentacle form is carved with facets

Facets are then rounded off.

Suckers are then roughed out.

Basic sculptural work is done with an electric chainsaw, electric power planer, and a Lancelot blade on a 4″ grinder

Finishing the surfaces

The tentacle is then refined by hand carving and texture adzing with a d-adze.

Painting

It is painted with exterior flat latex paint, it is applied as a series of washes with opaque details.

Installing the Tentacle

Bainbridge Island resident and artist Will Robinson helped us on installation day.

Thanks

Thank you to Bill and Julie Marler, and the whole Marler Family

A very special thanks to: Eleanor Reynolds, Ryan McPhail Fluid Concrete and Design, Spencer and Elizabeth West, Will Robinson, and especially to Joanne, my awesome wife, and my great kids, Sarah, Mikel, and Ruby.

Carving The Moon

October 30, 2017 by David

Carving in Action

I recently worked on a project involving carving a simple moon face. I thought it might be fun to take a time-lapse video of the project. This is the very frantic result. Please enjoy seeing the carving process, and watch the Moon emerge from the wood. For a higher resolution video please click here.

Music by: Agrupacion Ilegal Los Imparciales “El Choclo”

Thanks for viewing,

David

Drift Inversion on the Cover of The Front Porch Newspaper

October 7, 2017 by David

Drift Inversion made the cover of NorthEast Denver’s Newspaper, The Front Porch!

Read the article here:The Front Porch

…also enjoy a short video of Drift Inversion in Motion

Thanks to: Aaron Whelton, Kurt Nordquist, IDE Engineers, Barbara Neal, Denver City Councilman Christopher Herndon, Park Creek Metropolitan District, Denver Urban Renewal Authority, Civitas, Mortenson Construction, and all of my friends and family who supported this project and worked so hard to make it happen, and to my awesome wife Joanne.

David Franklin

Cultural House of Cards on Seattle’s “The Stranger”

January 14, 2017 by David

The Cultural House of Cards on the Cover of Seattle's The Stranger — David Franklin’s Cultural House of Cards on the Cover of Seattle’s free weekly newspaper, The Stranger, for the week of Jan 11-17 2017.

This house of cards symbolizes the fragile cultural structure we build together in our societies, and the beauty within each part of it.

Ever since my wife and I moved to Seattle in 1993 there has only been one source for truly comprehensive coverage of local music and arts, that has been The Stranger, Seattle’s best free weekly paper. If you are looking for an event, no matter how obscure it’s in The Stranger. The Stranger has an independent minded perspective on anything and everything important happening in the city and the world, with a true sense of grit and intelligence. It’s this creative viewpoint that has always made it the final word in Seattle’s vibrant culture.

The digital version of this week’s Stranger can be seen here.

This is such an honor because of the feeling of acceptance in my local arts community it provides, something that has not always come easy for me.

This piece, The Cultural House of Cards, sits within the high barbed wire fence of The Green Hill School in Chehalis, WA, but it has refused to stay imprisoned. WIth a feeling of it having a life of it’s own this project has gained the attention of Hi Fructose Magazine, Montreal’s Mural Festival and now The Stranger. Its themes are very appropriate to the times we live in and the challenges before us a s a diverse society.

Cultural House of with daughters. — Sitting in the Cultural House of cards with my daughters prior to painting.

My wife Joanne, my kids, Mike Sweney, The Green Hill School, Kurt Nordquist, Brian Perry, Scott Wipff, Jonathan Areola, and Western Graphics all had important roles in making this Washington State Arts Commission happen.

Thanks to everyone that has enjoyed this project and seen the importance of the message about all of us contained within it,

David

The Plant Show

September 25, 2016 by David

I think every artist dreams of being in a gallery show in New York City. It’s a total stereotype, and one that I am not ashamed to say that I too have carried around for years. One I have carried around without much hope of realization or much action on my part to make it happen. I just kept working, following my imagination and thinking maybe someday. One day, late last Spring it happened, and I got invited to be in The Plant Show at the 99¢ Plus Gallery in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Simran Johnston curated the show and did a spectacular job. The 99¢ Plus Gallery, in a repurposed discount store, seemed like the perfect place in New York for my work. I started following them on Instagram and was thrilled to see that their previous opening had been shut down by the police. This opportunity was looking better all the time, and I had the perfect piece for the show. It was one of my favorites and was sitting in storage, waiting for just such a chance to be given a new life and purpose. Little did I know what would happen…

With gallery walls all painted green, and an intriguing cast of characters assembled, what Simran designed in the 99¢ Plus Gallery grew beyond what could have been imagined, and became a media sensation.

Congratulations Simi, and thank you for including me in such an awesome group and making dreams come true.

Tentacle Planter 2013
Medium: Vitreous China and Glass
Dimensions: 18” x 22” x 20”
Made from a Kohler sink, known by the workers there as a “Dog Dish,” with tentacle legs joined and fired into one piece. The table has a glass top with a glazed white canoe bowl on top.
Made at the Kohler Factory in Wisconsin as part of an Arts/Industry Residency.

Please go on Instagram and check out #theplantshow to see all the great work, and for the entire surreal experience.

Press for the Plant Show:

David

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 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

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 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

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

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

Images of the California Rain installation for the Port of San Diego

March 31, 2016 by David

California Rain is David Franklin's newest sculptural facade — California Rain is David Franklin’s newest sculptural facade that wraps around the new Springhill Suites &Residence Inn Bayfront in the Port of San Diego. photo courtesy of coolsandiegosights.wordpress.com

Richard Schulte’s great blog coolsandiegosights about sights and events around San Diego featured some great photos of my new California Rain project.

See the post here.

detail of the California Rain Sculptural Facade — Detail of the California Rain installation on the new Marriott in downtown San Diego. Created as part of the Port of San Diego’s public art program. photo courtesy of coolsandiegosights.wordpress.com

The Old and the New

July 16, 2015 by David

This Tentacle installation has an interesting setting. It sits on a mantle I carved from fir in 2004 along with the panels on either side. The theme of the carvings were wind and water, with creatures from the water and the Moon on the right panel and creatures of the air and the Sun on the left panel. The mantle has wind and waves flowing out to their respective sides.

The Tentacles are a new contrasting sculptural element. They relate as a theme around the home and also to the carved Octopus on the top of the panel on the right. It is really amazing to work with such kind people who continue to appreciate your art as it evolves, and to see it all working together for a new effect.