As Blaine Fontana (who’s featured extensively in our new issue), prepares for his upcoming talk at the TEDx event happening soon in Portland, Hi-Fructose photog Tatiana Wills caught up with artist to take a peak inside his studio. Get a glimpse inside Fontana’s wood shop as he begins building his installation/stage, and of course, learn more about the upcoming talk here.
That’s my long time friend, brilliant artist and once apprentice Joshua Clay. I hired him on for a month to help me with my TEDx installation.
“This was a 30′ solid wood slab from a 1950’s bar table in Seattle. My neighbors in the building who do carpentry and restoration picked it up and had no where to store it so they gave it to me. Those holes are where the beer taps rested. just touching this piece makes the hairs stand up, its energy is filled with thousands of bar stories. The best thing is though, on the molding, where you gut or chest would be on the edge of the bar are these subtle undulations in the wood from 60 years of rubbing where one sat. There are also pennies stuck to that oxidation mess. In about a week I’ll be installing this on our kitchen studio.”
Definitely a shot that portrays my new attitude of
professionalism. I’m professional and exceedingly disciplined most of
the time when it comes to working, but here’s the other side of my “I
don’t need to prove anything anymore.”