James McNabb on creating a small city of unique ideas..
Pennsylvania-based artist James McNabb creates vast cityscapes using discarded bits of wood, “sketching with a band saw” in his own words. To him, they “represent a woodworker’s journey from the suburbs to the city and each piece depicts the outsider’s perspective of the urban landscape”. James has no specific agenda, each piece is cut intuitively in a band saw and the process was discovered quite accidentally one day when he grabbed some scrap wood out of a bin and started creating these forms. Before long he had 200, and a project which became ‘The City Series’ for his Masters exhibition.
I was delighted to get the opportunity to talk to James and find out what inspires his work..
What’s your background? How did you get to be where you are now?
I’ve always enjoyed making things. I grew like most young boys, digging in the dirt, building things, and exploring the unknown. In high school I took my first woodworking class, and quickly became interested in learning more. I enrolled at Rochester Institute of Technology where I learned the fundamentals of woodworking and furniture design, and began developing my creative process. That experience was pivotal in my development, and motivated me to pursue a master’s degree at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
What inspired the city series?
In the preliminary stages of a project, I often feel exhausted from thinking about design and the hyper-technical nature of woodworking. For me, I find relief in turning the machines on, and turning my brain off. During one of these moments, I picked up a piece of scrap wood from the trash, turned on the band saw, and started making a few cuts. It didn’t matter what I was making, but I was working through my frustrations in the material. The object I made looked strangely familiar. Rather than thinking too much about what I just did, I grabbed another piece and made more cuts. In about an hour, I made 15. I enjoyed what I was accomplishing, so I stayed up through the night that evening and made over 200 by the next morning. When I stood them next to each other, I realized I had created a small city of unique ideas.
How does your design process work?
My favorite part of this process is my time working on the band saw. I have a series of rituals that I utilize to get myself in the mindset to make this work. I gather a pile of scrap wood from the bins and put in next to the saw. Next, I calibrate the machine to make sure it is working properly. I roll my favorite stool up to the saw, with my safety glasses, hat, and headphones. I put some of my favorite music on, something that sets a good rhythm to the process. And when I turn on the machine, the stresses of the world go away. For me, that part of my process is meditative and very therapeutic. I feel like I’m wandering through ideas, and working through them in the material as they come to me. I have to remain focused, as the band saw could severely injure me if I become careless. But for the most part, its very relaxing.
What have you got planned next?
I’m hard at work developing new pieces for the City Series collection. I have big plans, and feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of what it will become. We officially launched our first Kickstarter project to help fund the development of the next pieces in the collection, and we’re very excited about the project. We’re offering custom collections of band saw cut buildings to all of our supporters. Its our way of giving everyone their own piece of the City Series.
See more of his work: http://www.mcnabbstudio.com/
