the surfboard originated in Hawaii, where local woods were shaped for specific waves
I’ve body-surfed all my life and have a natural feel for wave mechanics, but I’m finally getting ready to learn to surf on a board. Being a ‘wood guy’ with access to local mills and several decent breaks within a few miles, my first step will be to shape my own board. Luckily, my first surfboard will double as an integral part of our NOMO (non-motorized transportation) exhibition we’re developing as artists in residence at Kohler Arts over the summer.
Believe it or not, Sheboygan, Wisconsin has one of the best fresh water breaks in the world. So I’ve conceived of my surfboard as a freshwater longboard indigenous to the shores of Lake Michigan, modeled on the early surfboards native to Hawaii, which were shaped of local Koa and Balsa. Because freshwater is less buoyant than saltwater, I’ve been researching the specific gravity of Lake Region woods, looking for large trees with straight, clear grain and low specific gravity for maximal flotation and easy carving. I’ve discovered that American Cottonwood (Populus freemontii) still grows prolifically in the lowlands of Wisconsin, and with a specific gravity of around 0.31, is ideal for shaping a surfboard. The tree grows equally well along the Pacific Coast of Northern California, so I’ll make a prototype and test it locally.
To follow the development of our wowhaus artist-in-residence project at the JM Kohler Arts Center, please click here and scroll down.
I hit the ground running upon my return from the first leg of our Kohler Arts Residency in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Our plate will be quite full over the next 6 months while we develop a project focused on non-motorized transportation for Kohler, which will begin to take shape in earnest when Ene, Aili and I return to Wisconsin in April. Meanwhile, here are a few highlights from the world of wowhaus:
Ene updated the wowhaus website to feature our most recent work: www.thewowhaus.com
Wowhaus is interviewed in-depth in the Style Counsel column of the December issue of San Francisco Magazine, which hits the newsstands in the coming week.
Our Sunnyside Menagerie project will be open to the public soon (see poster below), and all are invited:
Otherwise, I’m focused on clearing the decks and readying my woodshop to make interior furnishings and fixtures for a private residence in Marin (more to come), which will occupy the majority of my time from early December through late March. We also have two active public art projects in San Francisco, one in Oakland and one in development in Walnut Creek, California, which will be the largest lenticular mural we’ve made, if all goes according to plan. I’ll do my best to post progress and ephemera on these pages, and hope you’ll continue to stay tuned!
On my final day in Sheboygan I was treated to a Hmong Festival, hosted by the Kohler Arts Center. The Festival featured the traditional storytelling, crafts, costume, food, music and dance of the Hmong culture. Through an epic pageant performed by local children (see video clip above), I learned about the exploitation and eventual persecution of the Hmong, and their tragic migration from China to Laos, and eventually to Thailand where they were refugees after the Vietnam War. Several Hmong families found their way to Sheboygan over thirty years ago, and the population has steadily increased as the Hmong settle in and participate as vibrant members of the community. We look forward to working with the Hmong people of Sheboygan as our Connecting Communities project takes shape as artists-in-residence this spring and summer.
Between meetings I strolled down from the Kohler Arts Center to the lakefront for some fresh air and was happy to find a handful of surfers negotiating the lumpy break of an offshore blow. I look forward to having the students of Ecole School investigate the surf culture of the region as part of our project with Kohler’s Connecting Communities program, and I’ve already heard rumor of a few shapers in the area. I’m interested to know how boards designed for salt water surfing perform in fresh water, and wonder if there may be the potential to develop a fresh water, lake region board. My approach would be to start with an indigenous tree, perhaps cottonwood, and discover the right shape through trial and error.
To help research content for our project as artists in residence at Kohler Arts Center, one of the students at Etude School in Sheboygan has created a website to document and archive all things related to the culture of non-motorized transportation in the region. Working collaboratively under the direction of wowhaus, a team of high school students will be taking pictures and video, making interviews and mapping anything relating to bicycles, walking, skating, surfing, boating, etc., with emphasis on the potential to develop DIY alternatives. You are welcome to follow along over the coming months as students and others add content here.
Beginning around the middle of the nineteenth century and thriving until about a generation ago, Sheboygan has a rich history as the epicenter of Midwestern circus production, dominated by a handful of family dynasties, many of whose descendants remain in the area. As I continue to explore opportunities and resources for our project as artists in residence with the Kohler Arts Center, I’m inspired by this unique history, particularly as it potentially links non-motorized transportation with community pride and visual identity.
a morning commuter braves the November chill in Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Sheboygan is easily one of the coolest towns I’ve experienced. The people here exude a pragmatic optimism and can-do eagerness that conjure another time, a friendlier America of the past that in many ways has never left this small city on the lake. Clearly, Sheboygan is a model for a future, pedestrian-friendly town worthy of emulation. I know of no other city of this scale that offers a world class art institution, was voted the second most bike-friendly city (after Seattle), was among three counties nationwide to receive federal funding to develop infrastructure for non-motorized transportation, and boasts the best fresh water surfing in the US.
dusk settles over the Sheboygan River, from the bike path
the surfboard originated in Hawaii, where local woods were shaped for specific waves
