Commercial Art
Bent Wood art piece Design & Fabrication
Concept To Design
The Coyote Valley Casino Has a large curved wall at the entrance to their concert hall. Each side of the wall has a large alcove. The interior design firm working on the casino commissioned me to create the art piece for this space. To start the design I created a 3D model of the walls (shown above). I based the design on mobius strips which are shown in the 3D model. After experimenting with the wood I decided on a mobius strip with 1 extra twist so it creates a loose knot (as seen to the right). Once I determined the size of a single knot I used Illustrator to finalize the layout of the knot strands (shown above to the right). The final design had to be modified slightly as the contractor did not build the walls to the specs I was given. The alcoves were larger so the strands increased in number and length.
Fabrication
To fabricate the individual strands we hand bent and glued 196 strips of Maple veneer into knots. Each knot was drilled through the top and then threaded onto aircraft cable. Each end was finished off with clips and turnbuckles. Strands consisted of either 7 or 8 knots so that the knots would alternate when hung. We completed the fabrication of all strands in my shop and transported them to location.
Final Product
Once all strands were installed, from the casino floor, the walls look like they are made of woven wood resembling the weaving of a basket. Up close the details of the individual knots and their variation of placement create visual interest.