Tree Recycling mod
From Mod Mania
Tree Recycling mod
`The afterlife of trees`, The Age, 29 April.
The article, `The afterlife of trees` is a great example of mans ability to transform and modify, what to some would be a waste product or a pain to get rid of into a worthwhile form. Melbourne`s Bruce Armstrong could be labelled as an artist, a woodworker, a sculptor and also, effectively a modder.
Mr Armstrong`s form of modification comes through the way that he salvages felled trees from in and around local parks, streets, reserves and any foliaged areas close by and turns these mountainous lumps of, at the time painful and useless timber into functional furniture and artistic pieces.
It could be argued that Mr Armstrong may not be undertaking modification but in my eyes and from my understanding of the concept of modding he is effectively undertaking a modding process by starting with one product and changing its use and look, while still keeping some understanding of the original form. This is evident in the article where Mr Armstrong said, “...the integrity of the tree has to be put into the piece”. Mr Armstrong`s belief of keeping the integrity yet enhancing the beauty of the original form represents a mod project in my eyes.
I can relate this form of modding to my own mod project this year where I modified a broken and useless scanner into a functional briefcase that can be used for carting documents. I enhanced the form by creating a bag and making it useful and I also kept the integrity of the scanner by leaving the badges and logos on just as Mr Armstrong does with his felled trees.
Bruce Armstrong`s modding practice revolves around recycling and rejuvenating a useless product. A lot of my discussions have revolved around the concept of recycling and this is another example of environmentally friendly modding. The old cliché, “Another man`s trash is another man`s treasure” comes into play here where Bruce Armstrong sees something more than a lump of fallen timber.
Mr Armstrong sees a beginning, not an end like others might see. The article explains that to Armstrong, these trees are the start of something big. These trees are grand; they are hundreds of years old and deserve our respect. Respect your elders. These trees that have lived long and illustrious lives should be given a second life that shows of their beauty that took so long to create. Mr Armstrong believes this greatly and by using his sculpting skills can successfully mod these trees into what he and others see as art and functionality.
Bruce Armstrong`s mod projects are undertaken at the time that nature permits. The felled trees are found at times of storms and other bad weather. Of late there have been nasty winds and thunder storms that have dropped these monstrous trees to their second life. Although great amounts of timber can be gathered from a single stormy weekend the timber needs to be cured for up to three years as the article explains. So this mod is years in the making. Although this process is one that involves unnatural sculpting, cutting and reshaping of the timber the process is mostly undertaken naturally. Firstly the trees need years to create growth and only begin to drop worthwhile limbs at the age of seventy as said in the article. Once the trees have either fallen or died the timber needs to take time to naturally cure and dry so that it can be effectively modded. All these years of the process are undertaken by natural causes.
Once the natural process is complete Mr Armstrong can go about carefully choosing the timber for which he can then mod into whatever he feels is needed. Whether it is a piece that is functional and can be used in industry or whether it is just an art form that keeps the integrity of the original form yet enhances the look of the timber.
Bruce Armstrong`s practice is said to be a win, win, win situation in the article and I agree. Storm damage is cleared, ‘Tree surgeons’ are employed, and Bruce and other people in his modding network are given materials free, from nature. What more could people want? This form of modding, a natural setting is pleasing to see. Rather than seeing the all common digital modding which is seen everywhere due to this digital age that we live in, it is comforting to know that some people are finding more natural ways of creating mods.
