Just the other day I was attending the Salt Lake City Arts Festival and walked into an intrtriguing booth. The artwork was like nothing else there and unbelievably charming! After talking to the Artist, Dave Borba, and seeing his work up close I fell in love with his amazing creations. They were so unique, beautiful, comical and functional! They move! It was seriously a joy to see.
I'm rarely amazed but am truly amazed by his awesome talent.
ABOUT DAVE:
"Born October 19,1975 in Salt Lake City, Utah, I’ve spent my years
harvesting as many experiences as I can, knowing the time I’ve got left
won’t be nearly long enough to fit in everything I’d like to do before I
cash out. Hence, my many diverse interests, skill sets and passion for
getting out into the world and living life to its fullest as often as I
can.
I’ve been fortunate to enough to nourish my soul & make a living
through various creative outlets, including Industrial Design,
Commercial and Freelance Photography, Graphic Design, Illustration and
Fine Art.
When I’m not working, I’m playing, and playing hard. Living in Salt
Lake City gives me many opportunities to grab an adventure along the
way. In my free time you can find me hiking or biking on mountain and
desert trails, tied into ropes, running rivers, or if it’s been an
exceptionally great year to be an artist, you’ll find me traveling
abroad.
Things I love the most: My son, my dogs, this life, creativity,
laughter, and love itself. Live and Love while you can folks, there's no
promise of tomorrow."
HIS WORK:
Photos will NOT do these pieces justice. They are so fun to make move! Each one has some sort of motion ability when you either press or pull on a lever. But here you go anyway! Beautiful stuff.
THE PROCESS:
"Carving: My
favorite part is when the saw begins cutting away chunks, chisels slice
away shavings, rotary tools and sandpaper cover my floor with fine dust,
and the piece begins to take it's form. I'm delighted and thrilled to
let the will of the wood and the spirit of the creative process guide me
as the piece comes to life.
Making the Mold: After the
carving is complete and I'm satisfied with the results I make a mold
with a high quality silicone that captures each and every subtle detail
of the original. This allows me to reproduce the carving in limited
editions, and offer variations of each piece.
Casting the Series: Once the
mold is complete, the casting begins. For this I mix a high quality
three-part resin using water, catalyzed polyester and marble dust .
After the piece is pulled from the mold its surface is prepped and made
ready for paint.
Hand Painting and Assembling: Each
piece is meticulously painted by hand to a richly detailed, bright and
fresh finish & then assembled. After it comes out looking shiny and
new, it's time to make it look old! I do this to give my work a sense of
nostalgia. To do this I've developed a multiple step process that adds
decades of weathering to its appearance and gives the work a nostalgic
and vintage feeling. Finally, I fit them with hand operated mechanical
movements; levers open mouths, pulleys spread wings. The result:
"Interactive Vintage-Inspired Folk Art." Below is a brief description of
each step in the process.
Although multiple pieces are cast in each series, due to the nature
of the process, no two works are alike. Once a creation has come to
completion each one ends up with its own distinctive and unique
qualities. Although they are offered as limited editions it's safe to
say that each piece is one is one-of-a-kind. Limiting the number of
reproductions helps keep the "family" small and helps motivate me to
keep coming up with new additions to the collection."
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DAVE? Check out this great blog post by City Weekly. Fantastic interview! Click on the link below.
http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-70-7041-dave-borba.htmlhttp://www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-70-7041-dave-borba.html
HIS WEBSITE:
http://daveborba.com/Home_Page.html
