The artist Tschabalala Self needed a functional yet beautiful art piece to add to her art exhibit Bodega Run. Bodega Run explores the "social, economic, and aesthetic significance of the New York City bodega".1 Her idea was to replicate a durable plastic milk crate that people can sit on.
To fabricate a strong and durable crate, we decided that the best course of action is to laser cut pieces of wood into panels. These panels of wood are then assembled as the base prism of the crate. The outside details that of the crate were hand assembled and attached to the main body.
Replicating a plastic milk crate with wood had its challenges. There are many moving pieces involved in the process such as figuring out the amount and type of wood to use. Also, figuring out the optimal way of assembling the entire object was very hard to achieve. To overcome these challenges, proper planning is key. We had to stay organized and measure everything twice. As for assembling the pieces, we tried and tested different tools to achieve a strong bond on the panels.
Working on this project was challenging but incredibly rewarding.
To see more of Tschabalala Self's work you can visit her website at http://tschabalalaself.com/.
If you're an artist or a creator looking to laser cut your next masterpiece, visit our laser cutting services and see how we can help you.