The Exhibit
These prototypes represent art and functional design using a sustainable material. The pieces are the culmination of a semester-long seminar during which the student-artists were asked to consider their own art and design practices, production and waste issues, human health and environmental impacts, and significant design and construction choices they could make as individuals.

Each student’s personal design aesthetic, observations they have made through direct experimentation with the medium, and a conscientious effort to mitigate the negative impacts on human health and the environment are reflected in the resulting art and functional prototypes.

The Medium
The pieces are made using a patent-pending interior composite panel developed by artist Christine Lee and research engineer John F. Hunt of the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. The panels are naturally bonded without an adhesive binder such as urea or phenol formaldehyde and are biodegradable.

The Artists
The prototypes on display were created by undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in ART 494/598, Sustainable Wood Art, an upper division seminar in the wood program of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts led by visiting faculty associate Christine Lee. Throughout the class, students became familiar with the characteristics and properties of the medium through various experiments such as efficient material utilization, joinery, surface manipulation, and compatibility with adhesives and finishes.

Special thanks to the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, and Kretz Lumber.