Sandblasted Native Panels
By Alex Dawkins
Posted in News, on October 20, 2015
Affordable, decorative, and innovative. These are adjectives we have heard from our customers when describing the advent of sandblasted Cedar panels. Lattimer Gallery has carried hand-carved panels from some of the top First Nations artists in Canada for over twenty years, but it is only over the past two years that we have seen the creation of sandblasted pieces.
To create these pieces, a design is first drawn to scale. Then, this drawing is transferred to thin rubber matting. The design is cut-out of the rubber by hand, which exposes the negative space of the design and leaves the formline design intact. A piece of wood is then prepped to fit the rubber matting and the entire surface is sandblasted. The wood is protected where ever the rubber lies, but all of the exposed areas are abraded once the sandblasting begins. The wood displays an interesting texture through the use of this method because the sapwood is denser than the rest of the wood. Thus, the sandblasting creates a grooved appearance in the wood, which produces amazing textures and lighting effects in the cedar.
Lattimer Gallery is carrying pieces by three artists who are currently using this technique: William Cook, his niece Jazmine Cook, and Salish artist Wes Wyse. We have had great success with these pieces, as they are usually 1/4 the cost of hand-carved panels and can be customized in any colour. In addition, we have facilitated several custom orders with these artists, which is a great option for organizations that want to integrate their logo or symbol into the artwork. Please email Lattimer Gallery with any questions you may have.