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, July 14, 2012

Reptire Designs at the Festival for the Eno 2012- Sunday, July 8th




On Sunday, Ken and Leslie came by and picked up their motoknot planter, though I’m sorry that I was cooling off in the river when they came by. I also regret that I did not get the chance to get a photograph of them.


Leslie had been kind enough to write me another check, as I had taken the first one swimming in my pocket that day, so I was careful not repeat that mistake. Such are the hazards I guess, of doing office work near a cool river on a hot day.


    I had an interesting conversation with an interesting fellow, a raccoon hunter who described how he used to use an old tire still on the rim as a feeding trough for raccoons. He would drill a hole into the tire large enough for a coon to get his arm through, but not large enough for a deer to get it’s snout through. In this way, he was able to get the raccoons comfortable with an area. Just another use for an old tire.

(actually, just last night, at a bar I was playing music at, I met a fellow who carries a tire or two in the back of his truck, to use as fuel incase he gets stuck out in the wilderness…)

Later that day, I got to make a very special connection between a person whose sensibilities of style I happen to know, and admire, and one of my prized Tirariums.

The person was Anna Lena Phillips, who had called the Rowdy Square Dance the day before, and the piece she chose was a very small sedum succulent, planted in perhaps the smallest tredknot tirarium yet. This tredknot was ‘forged’ from an armadillo road bicycle  tire, with a really exquisite and artful tread pattern, which had something of the feel of a line-o-cut. In fact, many tread patterns do have this feel, but this one had a certain organic quality to it that made it stand out from the others. When the black of this band of intricately carved rubber was oiled to make it sharper, and it stood against the deep maroon tones of the sidewall on the edges, and the cool minty green tones of the succulent plant, this really made for a striking piece.

I am so glad that Anna Lena connected with this tight, elegent and perfunctive planter. I know that it really resonates with her personal sense of aesthetics, which I consider to be quite sophisticated.

Anna Lena Phillips with her new tredknot Tirarium (tm)


I also had a nice visit from a special friend, Jagmeeth Mack and his new sweety, Leah.
Jagmeeth has recently bravely entered Graduate School to persue his passion in Journalism.
I am very excited for him!


I would like to give a special thanks, once again, to my mom, Edie, who has once again gone above and beyond in her assistance in this operation.

It was Edie who used to bring me down to this magical spot as a kid, and she has always been very encouraging of me to participate in the festival, recognizing it as the great opportunity that it is for Reptire Designs.

This year, like last, Edie was a great help with the plantings, as well as helping to mount signage for the booth. Without her keen eye for detail, prudent thoughtulness, and solid craftswomanship on deck, I would probably be a sunk ship in this storm.




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