A while back, I was approached to create a wonderfully large piece for a designated space in a beautiful Mid-Century Modern home in Palm Springs, CA. My design is shaped from exotic wenge wood with black & white ebony highlights. The area has very specific design requirements and needed to be free-form with no frame. When finished, it will be over 5 feet tall and only 9 1/2 inches wide and will float off the wall via a custom riser system as if hovering there by magic. Here is beginning of my process, the starting with the back view.
Special holes were tapped in the metal to accommodate the custom riser system. I then routed an inner pocket into the back the piece so the metal frame could be flush fit:
I then epoxied the aluminum frame in place and clamped it down as it cured:
Fully shaped, back view:
Next came the sealing in of the inner frame. But first I had to create the edges to retain the resin. The bolts are for making sure the riser openings are not filled:
The end result:
Front view:
This is what the section pictured below looked like from the front, after hand sanding, pre- hand edge shaping, pore filling as well as staining the edges so the whole piece pops off the wall:
After 3 coats of Crystalac, it is now ready for multiple layers of Polycoat with more hand sanding between each layer.
The Commission: Completed
With a total of 10 sanding by hand [with the grain] between each layer of Crystalac and gloss Poloycrylic, my piece is finally complete.
"Double Aloha"
9.5" x 64"
Exotic Wenge Wood with Black and White Ebony highlights floating off the wall on custom standoffs
I quickly laied it out for a photo before heading out to the install. Here is a quick shot of the bottom, including the ebony signature piece:
The Commission: "Double Aloha" installed:
Side shots of the special risers that suspend everything off of the wall gives the illusion that the whole piece is mysteriously floating in midair.
This special commission was for a private collector's beautiful Mid-Century-Modern showcase home in Palm Springs. A framed piece would have thrown off the whole balance of surrounding ceiling and wall angles, as well as it's surroundings. Much consideration was necessary to harmonize my piece within the space.
