Welcome

Ahoy Matey, and Welcome to REPTIRE, an intermittent ‘ship’s blog’, chronicling the slow rise in the South Easterly skies of Reptire Designs; a studio that designs and crafts always artful, and sometimes useful THINGAMABOBS from old Indian Cucachou, aka ReTired Rubber.

Down Below, Ye shall find a permanent 'flagship post' marking the Maiden Voyage of Reptire Designs.

And below that, in the ‘hull’, can be found more recent posts chronicling the daring new adventures of Reptire Designs, dashed with small bits of whimsy, spotted pickerel, local color, and lizard lore..

In fact, on the right, in pale purple, ye shall find the Captain's Log’s Table of Previous Posts, which ye can peruse by year, month, and title to ye hearts content.

If ye haven't gotchyer sea legs yet, My Pretty, Ye can take a gander at our website at www.reptiredesigns.com, to get a proper Landlubber's Introduction.

Thanks for stopping in, I do hope you enjoy your visit aboard this ship! HARHARHARHAR.......

Sincerely, Travius Von Cohnifus

Captain, Founder, Indentured Servant, Rubber Alligator Wrestlor Extraordinaire a' this here ship.

enter the treadknot

Welcome
On September 26th, 2006, I launched my tire art/design business, Reptire Designs, with a solo exhibition of my artwork in The Green Gallery at The Scrap Exchange Center for Creative Reuse, in Durham, NC. For many reasons, it was a night that I will always remember, and I am grateful to Laxmi (my girlfriend at the time) and Edie (my mother, still) for dutifully documenting while I shmoozed, so that I may now shmare a taste of the evening with anyone who was not able to attend...



On a cool but lively autumn night-before-Center Fest, a stream of friends and curious strangers trickled (like pebbles through a rain stick) through the forest of odds and ends (that roost at night in The Scrap Exchange), out into the warm light of the back savanna, a scene utterly glopped with bizarre rubbery hybrids. Tentative and curious, the visitors craned their necks, nibbled, pecked, stood back, moved in closer. From the walls, glassy mirror eyes gazed back through black unblinking eyelids, while beneath the visitor's feet, in a steamy drainage cistern, a mortal drama unfolded. Primordial forms, with no eyes at all, sat puckered on stoops. A cascade of glittering steal droplets formed a curtain, to which clung a colony of tiny tire knotlettes.

Vito D., a long-time collabator down from the Asheville area, caressed the warming air with his Strange Little Folk music. I bobbed and I flit, and at an increasing clip-someone must have opened the faucet a bit....for soon I was swooning, I just about lost it! As the evening progressed, to my delight and amazement, 'family' from Durham, Chapel Hill, Pittsboro, Hillsboro, Siler City, Asheville, and Fresno all made it! From the Cohn Clan to the Steudel Clan to the CFS Clan; from the WWC Clan to the Duke Ac Pub Clan to the SAF Clan; from the Bike Shop Clan to the Ninth St. Clan to the Scrap Clan... and every one in between, guys, they were all appearing before my stunned, blinking eyes. While I spun and I splayed, Vito now played-CHURNED- up a torrent of gritty ditties; while a staff volunteer (Brandon's a photographer, I swear) whipped up pitchers of Mango Lassies. And The 'Scrap Exchange girls' worked the door, the counter, and the floor, going "cha-CHING!", cha-CHING!","cha-CHING!".!.



By the end of the night, hundreds of friends, acquaintances and had-been-strangers had poured in, poured over the work, and partaken in, what was for me and my art, a monumental communal feast. And on top of it all, I got to place many of my preemies in hands that I love and trust, and in several instances, hands that fit them like gloves. What a privilage to be able to connect with people this way. Heading into the turbid seas of small business, I can confidently say that if I drown tomorrow, I am at least blessed today with the memory of (as Vito later put it) one authentically good Durham night.



Thanks to all of you who were there; in body and/or spirit.





Reclaimed-wood Builder and Reptire Collector Howard Staab enjoying magwi knot at the Scrap Exchange

Reclaimed-wood Builder and Reptire Collector Howard Staab enjoying magwi knot at the Scrap Exchange
I can't think of anything more rewarding for an artist than to see someone interacting with their artwork. Photo by Laxmi Haynes

Sammy and Dannette contemplate

Sammy and Dannette contemplate
Photograph by Laxmi Haynes

Cascade Colony of Knotlets

Cascade Colony of Knotlets
They would go with your jacket, would they not Claire?

Laxmi Resplendent

Laxmi Resplendent

Mavis In The Mist

Mavis In The Mist
Photograph by Laxmi Haynes

Tire Amazement

Tire Amazement
Photograph by Edie Cohn

Saturday, September 17, 2011

RECLAMATION: The Work Space

Wow,
 Well, I have really got alot of catching up to do!
I truly regret that I have not been able to keep up to date with this blog, but library/internet/downloading hours compete with work hours, and I've got a lot of work to do! My life for the last few weeks has really been: wake, work, meet, work, search for supplies, work, eat, work, sleep, repeat.

But I wanted to just at least give a glimpse here of my workspace, to anyone who might be wondering.
Thanks for your interest, and I promise to follow up with a flood of good images once I get us all through this exhibition opening. I am dying to share them!

THE WORK STATION
Here below is my 'Work Hut', generously lent by Hermitage Museum for my preperation for the Reclamation Exhibion. A work of Reclamation itself, the building was built as a horse and cow stable, then used for photography classes, then summer Artcamps, and now me, a live in artist. This room is the left wing of a beautiful olf larger building which they still use for art classes.



If you walked through this door, you would see this stage.


Figuratively, this is the stage, on which I am to perform these Daring Feats of Tire Defiance.



















I set the stage accordingly.

However, in reality, this remains mostly a symbolic stage, as most of my real work occurs in the galley below...


Here is a workbench that I improvised from the housing for chemical bath tray that was leaning against the wall. This has become my cheif workbench, as it has the natural lighting from the door, and also is at a good height for me. I layed a piece of white plexiglass I also found in the room over the top of it, and as you can see, this has made a great work surface. 

I also moved this table over by the other side of the door, to create a sort of reception area...


I also set up another table along the wall, and have a central table, totalling a luxurient 4 different work tables that I can going with different projects at once! This has proved to be optimal for this operation.

STORAGE FOR TIRES
When you are working with tires (and any material for that matter), it is important to have enough material around to have some choices, for the right bits for a piece. I was alittle concerned about this going up, so I brought some tires from my own collection, to get me started. Later I connected with two bicycle shops and a motorcycle shop. But where to put all these tires? Melissa was kind enough to let me use the back of the building to store my stash, as well as big Tyrius the Tire Worm, who was in the pitiful (but manageble) condition of being hacked into luggable bits. I found this strange chamber, which helped keep them out of the neighbor's sight.
The Hermitage Tire Knave
(made just for this purpose, no doubt)

STORAGE FOR MY SLEEPING BODY
For Living Quarters, I have been fortunate enough to be allowed to borrow my parents' RV. 
I have spent many days, packed with as many as 7 people in this tin can (mostly with fond memories too!). But I have never experienced this as a one-man-camping-domain. Having lived in my own van for 10 plus years, I have to say that, as such, this thing rocks! Its really got everything I need, and is very comfortable indeed. I set her up in a corner, and set up the "Fortune Teller's Table", to make it feel more like home in Siler City, and impress the neighbors.



Alright, if you are feeling a little bit envious of this alloted work/play space (I can't say I'd blame you, I'd feel the same), let me really sink it in for you, and leave you with this one. 

Here is my prized view (around supper time) of a small inlet of the Lafeyette River (that the RV looks out onto)

(It does get kinda smelly at low tide, and there I have a lot of herons for neighbors, who never stop scowling at me from over the fence. Such is moving into an old established neighborhood, I suppose;)


Sometimes, the long work of an artist has its rewards!
Posted by at