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The Arm Of the Kraken in the Kitsap Sun

January 24, 2021 by David

The Arm of the Kraken Marler/Clark Law offices, Bainbridge Island WA

There is a great article about The Arm of the Kraken, and new work coming to Climate Pledge Arena this summer.

Check it out Here!

The Arm Of the Kraken on the cover of the Kitsap Sun Newspaper

You can learn more about the making of The Arm of the Kraken here!

Filed Under: carving, Installations, News, Public Art, sculpture, Uncategorized Tagged With: arm of the Kraken, Bainbridge Ferry Terminal, Bainbridge Island, carving, david franklin, Ferry, indianola, Indianola Washington, Marler Clark, octo, octopus, pacific giant octopus, Preston Singletary, Preston Singletary Glass, sculpture, Seattle, tentacle, Washington State Ferry, Winslow, woodworking

The Arm of the Kraken

December 31, 2020 by David

Tentacle emerges near Bainbridge Island ferry terminal

Bainbridge Island Ferry Trrminal

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.

Tentacle Landscape detail

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

d-adze carving and texturing tool

Finishing the surfaces

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

D-Adzed texture

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.

Filed Under: carving, Installations, News, Public Art, sculpture, Uncategorized Tagged With: Bainbridge Island, carving, david franklin, Ferry Tentacle, indianola, Red Cedar, sculpture, tentacle, woodworking

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

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

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.

https://davidfranklinart.net/dfwp/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/New-Project-5.m4v

Music by: Agrupacion Ilegal Los Imparciales “El Choclo”

Thanks for viewing,

David

Filed Under: carving, Uncategorized Tagged With: adze, carve, carving, carving knife, cedar, craft, sculpt, sculpture, tools, wood, woodworking

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

When Your Residency Goes on Strike

November 18, 2015 by David

As many of you know I’m in the midst of my second Kohler Arts/Industry Residency. It’s one of the very few programs in the country where artists are invited to utilize a studio housed inside a working factory, and it’s the best of its kind. Residents are flown to Wisconsin, provided lodging and a small stipend, and given the opportunity to work on a level that only a factory can provide. At the Kohler pottery, I receive all of the slip (liquid clay) I need, endless mold-making and firing capabilities, and the expert advice of Shari McWilliams, one of the most amazing ceramic techs around. Working alongside the highly skilled factory employees every day allows me to draw from their expertise, too. In return for all these fantastic resources, I’m asked only to donate some of my work and a few hours of educational time.

Assembling the Ghost school in the Pottery
Assembling the Ghost School in the Pottery

The Kohler Arts/Residency Program was launched in the early 1970s by the tireless and remarkable Ruth Kohler, who also is director of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Ruth’s dedication to philanthropy has had a huge impact in the local community and has benefited artists from around the world. In selecting me for the Arts/Residency program, Ruth resurrected my career, catapulting me forward into new artistic worlds, and benefitted me greatly.

This is my second residency at Kohler, so when I arrived I already had a number of old friends in the factory and immediately began making new ones. Strong relationships are vital to getting my work through the production system, and the hands-on time these workers spend assisting me in my projects is amazing. The friendships continue in the off-hours, too. Twice, Marty, one of the pottery inspectors, took me fishing.

Catching fish on Lake Michigan
Marty and I with my first Lake Michigan Rainbow Trout

Another day, my friend Dave took me and another resident on a tour of the local countryside, which really opened my eyes to the depth of Wisconsin’s beauty and the kindness of its people. Dave has been determined that I get the full Wisconsin experience this time, and made it his mission to make sure I take the time to do that.

In thanks for all of the warmth and hospitality I’ve received during this long stretch away from home and family, I asked each of the workers sign a fish in “The Ghost School,” so I could tangibly integrate the feeling of camaraderie, of working together, into my project.

Dave Stark and I at the Parnell Tower
Taking a tour of the Kettle Moraine and the Parnell Tower to see the fall color.

Throughout this residency, negotiations between Kohler and the UAW Union (which represents most of Kohler’s employees) have loomed. In the past few weeks the tension has been building. It finally erupted when the company made an offer. The workers soundly rejected it and went on strike. Having made concessions during the previous contract negotiations, which happened during the recession, the workers are taking a principled stand in defense of the lowest paid among them. Risking their holidays — and who knows what else — to walk picket lines in Wisconsin’s bitter cold, these men and women are taking a step into the unknown to do what they believe is right. For that, I respect them now more than ever.

pottery workers on strike
Pottery workers on strike

On the other side of the line are the Kohlers. As an artist and a participant in the residency program they have been good to me. They’ve  promoted my work, provided opportunities I never could have imagined, and allowed me to work in their unparalleled facilities achieving things I never could have done on my own. These are amazing gifts that can’t be forgotten or underestimated.

The Ghost School
The Ghost School

I am allowed to cross the line and enter the factory at any time. The workers know me and understand I have a contract to fulfill and have many non-union friends going to work every day. The lines are not as clear as you might think. But I haven’t set foot inside since the strike began. Instead, I’ve been drawing and catching up on other work. Eventually I will go in to finish my work and complete what needs to be done. Meanwhile, the wind and rain are having a new and different significance as I think about my friends out on the picket line.

Sometimes life turns out to be more of an adventure than one bargains for. I hope for a quick resolution, though I’m not very optimistic about that. What I am certain about is the good that resides in all the people here. Their kindness has touched me profoundly and I owe everyone involved a deep debt of gratitude. Wisconsin is truly a beautiful place, and the Arts/Industry program has provided the experience of a lifetime.

Filed Under: News, Residencies, sculpture Tagged With: Bait ball, carving, ceramics, craft, david franklin, drama, fine art, Herring, School of Fish, sculpture, Strike, swarm, Union, Water, woodworking

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.

Tentacle Installation
Tentacles Installation, mantle and panels carved in 2004.

View of Tentacles with Wind Cliff Mantle and Panels
Tentacles with Wind Cliff Mantle and Panels

Filed Under: carving, ceramics, Installations, News, Process, sculpture, Uncategorized Tagged With: carving, ceramics, fine art, octopus, Portland Architecture, sculpture woodworking, tentacle, tentacles, woodworking

Last year’s project at Marc Adams School of Woodworking

May 11, 2015 by David

I was invited to teach for my third year in a row at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Franklin, Indiana.   It is quite an honor as it is the best school of its kind in America and draws students of all walks of life, and from all corners of the country.  Its always a great pleasure to teach here.

I have been teaching 3-D wood sculpture classes, and knife making workshops, alongside some of the finest woodworkers and craftspeople in North America here.  My students have been interested in last year’s project so I thought I would post the project progression pictures here plus drawings for an alternate open winged version of the sculpture.

Raven Sculpture views
Raven Sculpture views

Raven Sculpture Step one
Beginning the Raven sculpture

 

step 2 Raven sculpture
step 2 Raven sculpture

step 3 Raven sculpture
step 3 Raven sculpture

step 4 Raven sculpture
step 4 Raven sculpture

step 3 Raven sculpture
step 5 Raven sculpture

step 6 Raven Sculpture
step 6 Raven Sculpture

step 7 Raven sculpture
step 7 Raven sculpture

Raven Sculpture
Raven Sculpture

 

drawings for an alternate wings open version of the Raven sculpture
drawings for an alternate, wings open, version of the Raven sculpture

open wing Raven version
open wing Raven version

Filed Under: News, Process, Teaching Tagged With: carving, Marc Adams, Raven, sculpture woodworking, wood carve

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