Time Lapse

 

 

This is a time-lapse of Michelle creating one of her reclaimed wood panel pieces of the course of many, many hours. Each individual wood color represents a new batch of materials gathered from empty lots and broken down buildings in Chicago.

Digitas

Digitas Chicago is a global interactive agency network. The company's theme is reclaimed wood, which falls in perfectly with Michelle's panel pieces. The company's CEO, Architect and Interior Designer turned up to welcome Michelle and her work into the fold...

Michelle walks one of the pieces into its new home at Digitas Chicago.

The patterns of the reclaimed wood panel pieces echoed both the city and the company's theme.

A piece done in clean wood mimics an aerial view of the city.

Michelle's pieces hang next to twisted pallets by another artist on display at Digitas.

In Triangle

Michelle Peterson-Albandoz finally has a saw fancy enough to create perfect 30 degree cuts for a mountain of triangles. Her first attempt was by no means small- a 6' x 8' foot reclaimed wood panel piece that keeps the eye busy with its patterns and colors!

Michelle stretches to sand the final few inches of the "In Triange" piece.

  

The color triangles are not painted by Michelle, each piece represents an individual load of reclaimed wood from old and weathered Chicago porches, floors or window materials.  

 

 

The Many Shapes of Inspiration

Concrete and Ash

Michelle Peterson-Albanoz makes sure to use discarded materials where ever she's at when creating her work. While in Florida she tends to focus on left-over concrete and waste paint. For this series she concentrated on concrete mixed with ash. Florida sports the adobe look so her thin-panel pieces reflect the architecture. Florida was hit hardest in the subprime loan debacle. Michelle was given loan applications for desperate home owners, which she then blended into her works.

Michelle burns a financial section of the newspaper in honor of the recession that started in '08. The subtle politics is worked into the pieces as subtext. The pages burn down to thin delicate layers.

A mix of ash from the newspapers and varnish creates a texture that can be applied to the concrete. Pushing and pulling it over dry and semi-dry layers adds a unique finish to another wise utilitarian material.


Here are just a few of Michelle's finished pieces from her concrete series: