Open Road

$995 – Measures 36 1/4 x 23 1/4 x (4 inches deep) Open Road is a nostalgic reflection of my first car. Beyond the rust, stuck bolts and bald tires, it represented freedom.
The window crank handle is an integral part of my memory. Growing up in the heat of south Texas, I rolled down the windows before starting the engine. Then I’d drive off on some backroad adventure with the wind in my face and nowhere to be.
The other parts I selected for this piece speak to some of the things I learned to repair. As a result, I learned a lot – about mechanics, life, and myself.
Each individual part of this work is meaningful to me. I like them for what they are, but I like them for what they were, and where they came from. These things lived a whole life on their own before they came to me.
The blue green main body of this piece is made from the trunk lid of a 1957 Buick, which had been repainted at some point during its life. In the left corner is a cutaway of a single barrel carburetor from an unknown automobile. I cut it in half to reveal secrets about how it mixes fuel and air. In the right corner is a bank of spark plugs from several engines. At the top center, sits a ring gear from an axle.
The window cranks are from 21 different cars of different makes and models. I like that they were carefully crafted with a thought for form and function. I arranged them in a wave pattern to represent wind and enhance their sense of motion. For me, the handles are more than the metal and plastic they are made of – they are about the cars they came from, and the stories they carry.
Maybe one of these cranks came from the first car of someone you know.