Thursday, February 17, 2011

Linton Goes to Town

I hope you will enjoy this scroll through a number of things produced by the Linton Casket Company for a couple of outdoor shows in the city. (Nashville) I have said it before, but it bears repeating: During the five year run of this wood-working coop, no commercial lumber was used, neither were any live trees ever cut down. It was in a way, a scavenging operation. We were quick to gather up trees brought down in storms, trees pushed or cut down by land/real estate developers, or trees taken out by utility companies because they threatened power/communication lines. We also developed alliances with a few tree surgeon/landscaping companies who would inform us if they had been contracted to remove a notable tree. We even floated the rivers after storms and re-claimed trees that had been washed away by flood waters. I emphasize these things because they reflect a principle of respect for the environment that was central to our work.

Note: For the first time, we actually exhibited a full-size (i.e. intended for a human) casket. It was made by Bud, and never was sold, or even offered for sale. It served only as an icon of sorts. We did, however, sell numerous small boxes intended as pet caskets. Some were actually used for that purpose, others were purchased simply as decorative and functional pieces for the house.

Typical 'found' wood represented in the pieces shown below are: poplar, cherry, walnut, hickory, ash, pine, red oak, white oak, and paulownia, apple, and pear. All pieces, in a way, represent a fallen tree. They are a product of obtaining such a tree, milling it ourselves, and curing by air and sun.























7 comments:

  1. this is sooooo beautiful, i am totally lost - i want to touch, to caress it, oh - nothing can compare to the feeling and fragrance of wood... and what amazing shapes - you are so blessed to be able to do this kind of work - why did you stop?

    thank you so much, so much, for sharing these...

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  2. Thanks Roxana, I will be posting soon about how the Linton Casket Company ended. As for me, I do continue to make things of wood, but not as frequently as in that earlier time.

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  3. The Linton Casket Company has captured my imagination, and now having actual images of the creations that came from the coop I feel all the more engaged with the story. My favorite piece is the bench with the "eye" - the back reminds me of the profile of some bird but I cannot think what one. At first I thought pelican, but that is not quite it. My other favorite piece is the large trunk two photos down from the shot of you guys. All the pieces were works of art and I bet the owners treasure them.

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  4. Thanks for your comments Lydia. Actually the bench is one of mine. It is made of cherry. As shown, it actually was incomplete since I added feet to it---big human feet that I carved. It was known simply as The Bare-footed Bench. The box was made by Bud. Linton cranked out lots of boxes, many never made it to shows since we would display them at roadside, and people would pull in and buy them. Bud (leaning against the tree in the picture) made the one you liked.

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  5. The name of the bird, Lydia, is Tucan. I saw it as well.

    Dan, great photos. I especially like the one with you in the background. That image of you is the Dan I know and love. Contemplative, calm and thoughtful, lost in a thought that will surely reveal a gift for us all to appreciate.

    Dee

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  6. Thanks for the constant support and encouragement, Dee!

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  7. It is so funny to me that until you mentioned it, Dee, I hadn't realized I was in the picture. I even double-clicked to blow the image up to check! Well, I'll be darned, that is me! I guess Kathy must have taken this shot.

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