While most people might approach freshly cut firewood as a way of fueling their bonfires or keeping their house warm on cold nights, designer Paul Foeckler has a different idea of harnessing light.
Using carefully selected pieces of firewood sourced from California forests, the LA-based woodworker forgoes setting a match to the wood and instead slices the firewood into precise slices, which then become the basis for his minimalist light designs that make up the Split Grain Collection.
Interestingly enough, the idea for the project came when Foeckler noticed that the exterior texture and shape of a piece of ordinary firewood looked “too beautiful” to burn. After experimenting with wood splitting techniques, he discovered he could enhance the organic properties by sawing the forms into cross sections and lighting them in such a way that further revealed the grain patterns.
Says Foeckler:
“The final works are minimalist and formal with a strong architectural sensibility which I think poetically speaks to the noble trees they came from. The balance between organic nature and refined technological materials is what I strive for in each piece with the added intention to aesthetically elevate both. I hope my work allows people to reflect upon nature in both intimate and public contemporary spaces.”
