”It must seem really peculiar when there`s a Cubs game; all these people are walking to Wrigley Field and we`re going in the opposite direction, dragging these tree branches,” says Edwin Shelton, an artist who has segued from sculpting to making serendipitous ”stick” or twig furniture.
Shelton made his first stick table so his ceramicist wife, Laurel Izard, would have a unique way to display her work at a craft show. In return, she helps him. ”She`s very short, but she drags in these huge branches,” he says.
Shelton`s work, along with that of more than two dozen other artists, will be on display during June in a show called ”Beyond the Basics” at Art Mecca Gallery, 3352 N. Halsted St.
The 60 pieces in the exhibit range from high-tech to folksy, and in materials from license plates to exotic woods, all from his Roscoe Village studio.
Shelton opted for ”a little bit of plywood and a lot of tree branches. I`ve made all this twig furniture and I don`t even live in a rural area,” he says wryly. ”The storms come through just often enough so I have the right quantity.”
This is the first furniture show for Shelton, who says that since he and his wife are invested heavily in equipment for ceramics and sculpture, ”I`ve had to use real low-tech tools for making my furniture, such as hand saws.”
That, of course, is just the sort of thing today`s hand-made furniture aficionado wants to drag home himself. For show information, call
312-935-3255.
