Wild wood, New Jersey
Gary Ecrets, a self-taught wood artist, uses the natural bends and twists of tree branches, limbs and twigs, and usually local sassafras, to create unique garden furniture. Dumpster Diver Dispatch #3.
Wild wood, New Jersey
Earth to Philly
Each month Earth to Philly features a Dumpster Diver Dispatch, a series of stories and perspectives from Philadelphia's original "green" community of artists, the Dumpster Divers. Here is Dumpster Diver Dispatch #3.
Gary Ecrets, a self-taught wood artist, uses the natural bends and twists of tree branches, limbs and twigs, and usually local sassafras, to create unique garden furniture.
He weaves and intertwines this recycled wild wood with salvaged, weathered wood planks or old painted boards in his creative birdhouses, benches and chairs. Deer antlers adorn, connect and provide armrests. Recycled antique or just old rusted metal farm and machine parts - saw blades, chains, hinges - bring contrasting shapes and textures to enrich his work with their age and wisdom. Gary also plays with bark and sawn wood to create interesting contrasts.
Gary Ecrets' interpretations of horse-drawn wagons, garden benches, deer and even wooden pumpkins line Rt 49 in Hopewell NJ, outlining and defining Gary's home and workplace. Small wooden bridges, outhouses, inviting benches and his unique bird houses - all these reflect a domesticated setting of relics and call to mind a more peaceful and idealized pastoral time of romantic days gone by. The Zen-like garden setting of stone paths flows into and throughout the very neat, groomed natural wood setting. Perfectly placed rocks, trees and bushes create balance and reflect an Asian-inspired feeling of tranquility.
This is a garden of hard-won simplicity with a bit of humor. At first glance, Gary Ecrets comes across as a man of few words, neatly dressed and pressed, carrying himself stiffly upright. And his yard and workplace look like him: Everything has its place - order is important here. But a hint of humor, almost rustic itself, peeks out of Gary in his choice of materials, and is sprinkled throughout his work.
His elongated birdhouses, tall and thin or short and stretched wide, must provide homes for very uniquely shaped birds with unique abilities. Humor speaks out in the names: There is his "Hinged Bird House," his "Half Bird House." A hammer on another birdhouse is for any needed home-owner repairs.
Tension and balance between nature and "man-made" grow and flourish in Gary's Garden.
-- Sally Willowbee
Sally Willowbee is a writer, artist, self-taught furniture maker, and lifelong trash-picker working to interweave her lifestyle, politics, feminism, creativitiy and humor with her concern about our environment. More info at www.quirkyworks.info
The experts at Philadelphia's Energy Coordinating Agency answer your energy questions in our regular feature Stay Warm, Stay Green. Send in your question or questions to energy@phillynews.com.
Look for Jenice Armstrong to supply tips on green living as well as occasional columns on the subject of Green. She also blogs at Hey Jen.
Becky Batcha stays tuned for the here-and-now practical side of conservation, alternative energy, organic foods, etc. - stuff you can do at home now. Plus odds and ends.
Laurie Conrad recycles from her ever-growing e-mailbag to pass along the latest travel deals, fashion statements, household strategies, gadgets, cool local events and other nuggets of interest to those who appreciate a clean, green world.
Vance Lehmkuhl looks at topics like eco-conscious eating, public transportation and fuel-efficient driving from his perspective as a vegetarian, a daily SEPTA bus rider and a hybrid driver, as well as noting the occasional wacky trend or product. Contact Vance with your 'green' news.
Ronnie Polaneczky sees the green movement through the eyes of her 12-year-old daughter, who calls her on every scrap of paper or glass bottle that Ronnie neglects to toss into the house recycling bins. Ronnie will blog about new or unexpected ways to go green. She also blogs at So, What Happened Was...
Sandra Shea and the DN editorial board opine on any green-related legislation or policy. And we'll pass along some of the opeds on the subject that people send us.
Jonathan Takiff will be blogging mainly about consumer electronics - those things that we love to use and that suck too much energy. He'll spotlight green-conscious gizmos made in a responsible fashion, both in terms of materials used and the energy it takes to run them.
Signe Wilkinson draws the comic strip Family Tree, which follows the Tree family as they try to live green in the face of nattering neighbors, plastic-wrapped consumer products, and the primal teenage urge to spend vast quantities of money on hair care products of dubious organic quality.
In addition to these updates from our newsroom bloggers, watch for an occasional feature, Dumpster Diver Dispatches, from Philadelphia's original "green" community of artists, the Dumpster Divers. You'll learn about creative ways to reuse and recycle while you reduce, and about the artists who are making little masterpieces from what others throw out.
Sept. 17: A head start on cold season
Oct. 8: Help with fuel bills
Oct. 29: Last-minute ways to winterize
Nov. 19: Budgeting for the big bite
