I made a necklace for the Seattle Metal's Guild and the Wawona Show in Port Townsend WA. More details about the show (which is currently up through 5/29/17) can be found here: http://northwindarts.org/exhibit/gallery/050417-smgwawona/
From the website:
Original jewelry and sculpture by Seattle Metals Guild (SMG) members using left over old-growth Douglas fir from the Wawona for exhibition and sale.
The Seattle Metals Guild is about learning. It’s about sharing information, building skills and advancing the field of metalsmithing while broadening the horizons of its members. Founded in 1989, we are a non-profit community of jewelers, metalsmiths, artists, makers –practitioners and metals fans of all tempers, gauges and alloys– who are excited about the traditions and contemporary possibilities of this wonderful art form.
Along with providing affordable educational opportunities to our members and to the general public, our activities include: a bimonthly newsletter, exhibitions, an annual symposium and a series of workshops and lectures on a wide variety of subjects.
1897 – The schooner Wawona was launched at Fairhaven, California. It was the largest three-masted sailing schooner ever built in North America.
1897-1914 – The Wawona hauled lumber up and down the Pacific Coast.
1914 – 1944 – She was sold and employed in the Bering Sea codfishing trade.
1964 – A group of concerned citizens from King County, Washington, purchased her in an effort to preserve her as a maritime museum.
1970 – The Wawona became a National Historic Site. She was the first ship in the nation to be listed on the National Register.
2009 – Stricken with water intrusion and a beetle infestation, the Wawona was deemed too expensive to restore and was demolished.
In 2012 artist John Grade constructed a nearly 64-foot high sculpture using salvaged wood from the Wawona’s hull. The sculpture is found in the Atrium of the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle. The sculpture stands 56-feet within the building, 5-feet below the floor and 2 1/2-feet above the roof. It is meant to evoke an old growth tree and the hull of a ship.
Here is a picture of the original ship, followed by pictures of my process and the final piece.
