IG: @stainedsteele
samsteelestudio.com

Owl Babies

My creative process is an exploration of the playful theme of nostalgia through crafting a functional and sculptural wooden work using traditional furniture techniques. In this work, I’ve selected a piece of furniture that highlights important memories from my youth. I reimagined this item and instilled a narrative that addresses personal familial relations. Typically my work creates a space for two people, as I am often exploring the bond between myself and my twin brother. Through my stylistic decisions, I’ve attempted to create something that is dreamlike and engage with the way we thought as children. This mindset prompts the use of soft, bulbous, and ballooned aesthetics, which push the boundaries of wood as a rigid material and also question the limits of the material. I want the wooden object to feel as if it were malleable and pushed out from the surface plane. The references to farm vernacular, mid-century modern furniture, Renaissance-era framework, contemporary and Art Nouveau architectural design, and contemporary industrial design are utilized as a way of furthering the investigation of themes of nostalgia, childhood, and familial relations.

Bio

Sam Steele is a woodworker based in Portland, Maine. As a way of exploring themes of childhood nostalgia he often uses bulbous, and ballooned aesthetics, pushing the boundaries of wood as a rigid material and also questioning the limits of the material.