cairns

Since these structures are made of wood and not stone, they are cairns for the home, and because they are saturated with pure beeswax, they do not fair well in the outdoors. For a long time cairns have been built as markers, memorials, meeting points and altars. They can offer many things to your environment -- stability, peace, reflection, whimzy.

see below about care

atlantic one-hundred & thirty-eight 2022-2024

15"x15"x8" irreg. // $400

process

These sculptures are assembled with found driftwood from the Atlantic at Seawald Beach in Maine. The wood is saturated with melted beeswax and encaustic, often adding pigment for color tones. A heat gun is used to permeate the wax, color and damar resin into the wood, one layer at a time. The pieces are stacked on a metal rod.

These are organic works and need to be looked after; every year or two it is best to de-assembled -- the wooden pieces buffed with a cotton cloth to bring out the beeswax lustre and the metal rod sanded to clean any accumulated rust/salt. The pieces which have small or thin pieces of wood can be very delicate; if a piece breaks, please contact me and I will repair it (save the broken piece for sizing).

atlantic one-hundred & forty 2022

60"x9"x6" irreg. // $1400

This wood cairn stands five feet and is permeated with raw umber encaustic and beeswax.

HOME CARE

If you choose to purchase a cairn, which I hope you do, please know that it requires yearly care.
Rust will form on the metal rod; take apart yearly and sand the rust of the metal rod.

Keep track of order of wood pieces so you put back as originally stacked -- the metal rod should be barely visible if at all.
Buff each piece including the base with lint-free cotton cloth – this restores a subtle lustre.
The sculptures are organic -- they may emit salt crystals; just leave them be -- salt is part of their character.