Walter May • 2020 - 2025 • Sculpture
A slightly smaller version of "Down Below" accompanies the original allowing for reflection and comparison.
Three objects made from well used worn wood bowls with various perforations and surface treatments. Private collection.
A mid-size wood bowl with a charred surface perforated with small screws and nails. Private collection.
A large wood bowl that has been stained with black and blue ink and perforated with small screws. Private collection
A large wood bowl that has been stained with blue ink. An arrangement of small markings has been burnt into the surface of the bowl. Private collection.
"Float", "Bottle Up and Go" and "Over Under".
96” w. x 98” h. x 15” A bentwood hatrack supports a semi-rigid air duct and a stout lilac branch. Hanging from the hatrack are four metal objects - an exhaust pipe cap, a ladle, a fishing lure and a metal float.
Detail of hanging metal objects.
24“ w. x 84“ h. x 9“ d. / 61cm. x 213 cm. x 22.8 cm. Clamped to the wall is the bottom half of an upended, handmade aluminum walker which supports an assortment of cast aluminum and burnt wood sticks. A small wood knob plugs the walkers handle.Two bottles sit below the walker, one contains the walkers former handle, the other an aluminum paddle. These objects are connected to the walker with bead chain.
Approximately 36" (91.5cm) dia. Thiry-six vintage oilers are attached to a convex steel disc and suspended from the ceiling.
Alternate view of "Chandelier".
41“ x 37 1/2“ x 49"/ 104 cm. x 94.7 cm. x 124.5 cm. Two steel security grates separate a partially burnt ladder and several roots. In all instances cut portions of the roots have been painted yellow. The ladders legs penetrate the grate. The roots wind through and are supported by the grate which enables them to "float" at different levels.
Alternate view of "Over Under"
90" h. x 19" dia. /228.6 cm. x 48.25 cm. dia. A square point spade balanced on a masonry trowel is tied to metal grate with rubber strapping. A burnt bentwood chair leg protruding from the neck of a vintage brown glass apothecary jar filled with black sand penetrates a corner of the grate. A small arbutus canker is attached to the leg just above the bottle. Below the bottle is an inverted wood bowl. All of these objects reside on a burnt wood disc placed on a galvanized water barrel.
Detail of objects on the disc on the barrel.
36" dia. x 10' high / 91.4 cm. x 304.8 cm. A reclaimed oak tabletop is propped on a slanted wood bowl. Protruding from the center of the tabletop is the trunk of a Aspen tree. The tabletop and Aspen are dyed with blue ink.
A pair of stumps supported by matching metal stools placed on wood risers.
67" h. x 22" x 23" A stump which has grown around a fence post has been treated with a white penetrating stain. The stump has been placed inside an inverted metal stool which stands on a sliced section of tree trunk.
53" h. x 28" dia. A hefty stump coated with a black penetrating stain sits atop a powder coated metal stool and balanced on four inverted wood bowls. Private collection.
A pair of canes are attached to a plywood chair back. A vintage aluminum grease gun is nestled between the canes with the nozzle bound to the canes by two long zip ties. Private collection.
Two skinny sculptures are attached to a wall.
Approximately 36" high. A cast iron gate hinge is bolted to the wall. A wood fid passes through a hole in the front of the hinge. A sturdy but slender object with a bulb on the top end is notched into a smaller hole near the base of the hinge. There is no definitive answer to what this stick like object might have been. Private collection.
Approximately 48" high. A copper pipe is balanced on a cobblers anvil. The upper end of the pipe is inserted into a wooden shoe form which is pressed against the wall.
Cane Bundle • 38"h. x 12" x 6" • Two canes and a wood pestle are bound together with a cable tie and white cord. A wood bowl caps one of the canes. This assembly is hung from a small branch which is attached to the wall with a brass bracket. Also hung from the branch is a bead chain with a short length of cord ending in a plumb bob.
1. Pipe Bowl • 36" h x 6" x 7 1/2". A walking cane hanging from a tool handle has been partially painted with aluminum fence paint. Attached to the cane are a small oiler, a pipe bowl and a short tree branch. 2. Block Bottom. A burnt glassmith's block is attached to the bottom of a cane. A forked branch is also bound to the cane with a cable tie. A clean saw cut at the bottom of the branch is dyed blue and meets the cane at a point where the cane is wrapped in blue cord.
1. Bolo • 2023 • 38"h x 6" x 6" • A cement ball is wedged into the crook of an inverted cane and held with perforated metal straps. A leather wrapped bolo ball is hung by bead chain from the other end of the cane. 2. Slowburn • 2021 • 36" h. x 6" x 4.5" • A branch with ends and tips of smaller branches capped with black plastic, is bound to a smaller branch which is partially burnt. Both are strapped to a slender wood cane with zip ties and hung from a filise handle.
50” x 28” x 15” • A short piece of wood wrapped in cord and painted with gesso protrudes from the wall. This bracket supports a walking cane to which is bound a convoluted branch from a low growing juniper.
38" x 8" x 8" • Sixteen enamelled tin cups are hung by their handles on an inverted cane. Decapitated heads from imitaion soapstone animal trinkets, souvenirs of Canada (aka Wolf Miniatures) are attached to each of the cups.
Detail
76” x 30” x 33”. Four hand sickles replace the blade of an antique Norwegian Scythe.
43” x 7.5” x 6”. An antique enamelled metal cup sits on a small wood shelf. Standing atop the cup is the trunk of a small conifer capped with a burnt wood lemon. Each short truncated branch is sealed with red wax. A partially painted well used cane is hooked through the handle of the cup and leans against the upright trunk.
An inverted enameled tin cup is place on a small shelf. A full bent tobacco pipe is balanced atop the cup. A cast resin head cut from a small animal souvenir protrudes from the bowl of the pipe. Private collection
Detail
"Dogs," "Baggage," and "Double Domes." at Paul Kuhn Gallery.
50 x 72 x 40" • A partially repaired railway baggage cart (circa 1930) carries a structure composed of burnt or painted canes, deconstructed bentwood chairs and a metal birdcage stand, all held together by cable ties.
12" x 12" x 6" Driftwood with bone ankle and a wood boot form are placed atop two sad irons. Private Collection.
"TroughPlankBowls," "VentBowls," installed at Paul Kuhn Gallery.
59" x 39" x 25 3/4" • A live edge wood slab is sandwiched between a stack of painted and stained used bowls and a damaged inverted galvanized stock tank.
32" x 30" x 12" • A galvanized roof vent stands beside a stack of stained and painted wood bowls.
48.5" x 19" x 19" • A painted wood plate, bowls and a wood ring sit atop a branch with multiple forks. A tin cup acts as a shoe on the bottom of one fork. A wood disc and tripod salvaged from a camp stool serves as a pedestal.
Installation view of "Beacon with Tin Cup," "Dogs," "Bad Handles," and "Red Bump with Flat Top."
"Jack Stack," "ShedScrollShed," "Strainer" and "Yellow Bumps" at Paul Kuhn Gallery.
71 1/2" x 19" x19" • A laminated cedar block and two charred legs salvaged from a bentwood stool support a vintage mechanical jack, a wood vase, two painted bowls joined at their lips, and a piece of partially burnt driftwood.
33" x 33" x16" • A moose antler meets a burnt wooden scroll. Perched on the scroll is a small brass moose antler.
A group of used and damaged wood bowls with various attachments have been treated with coloured stains and paint.
9"dia. x 4" A wood bowl has been burnt, perforated with conical holes and sanded.
Four modified wood bowls (2019-2021) and a cluster of damaged wood tool handles suspended from cords ("Bad Handles" - 2012).
"Bad Handles" • (2012) A collection of broken file handles are hung from a wall bracket. "Red Bump with Flat Top"• (2020) A distressed wood bowl is perforated with small holes and treated with red and blue stain.
Two small wood bowls are laminated together. Each bowl features a circular burnt center which displays an off center recessed dot containing white cracked gesso.
14" dia. x 6" • A large, slightly deformed wood bowl is treated with coloured stain. A crack along one edge is repaired with hand made copper staples. A hole in the center is filled with a round wood plug.
7 1/2" x 4" A wooden bowl is treated with white paint and stains. Private collection.
43" x 34" x 20" An upside down steel catch tray extracted from a bench grinder sits on the upended casters of a shipping crate. On top of this construction are two oval glass domes encasing inverted metal coffee pots placed on small painted wood pedestals.
Alternate view of "In Verse Almost."
49" x 10 1/2" x 5 1/4" A rusty iron hook is attached to a charred wooden platter. This hook holds two black canes, one with a glossy enamel surface, the other burnt then washed and oiled. The canes are joined together with a large black washer and a magnet. Private Collection.
37" x 17" x 4" A broken LIMB is attached to a homemade metal LADLE which contains a wood CONE which tapers to meet a wood file HANDLE. Private Collection
80" x 12" x 50" • A metal shelf on large casters is filled with various paint and chemical containers. A composite photograph (1 to 1 scale) of the paint cans is attached to the back of the shelf.
80" x 12" x 50" • A composite photograph (1 to 1 scale) of the front of a rolling paint cart is attached to the back of the paint cart.
Approximately 12' tall. Other dimensions vary. A slender tree trunk treated with black and red stain and topped with a burnt wood grape is supported by a surveyors tripod.
80" h. x 32"w. x 20". The stock of a shattered musket is attached to a wood pitchfork by a pipe clamp and wire wrapping. This construction leans on a tripod composed of three oak yokes.
10' tall. Other dimensions vary. The trunks of two small trees are joined end to end. Red wax seals the ends of all the amputated tree branches. On top of the trees is an industrial wood bobbin capped by a file handle. This construction is supported by a wooden photographers tripod.
60" h x 32" x 32" A full scale replica of a 18th century stone pedestal reproduced in burnt cedar.
16" h x 33" x 33". A moose antler is joined to a burnt wooden scroll. Perched on the scroll is a small brass antler. This construction is partially supported by a vintage wood trophy base.