I enjoy creating entertaining public installations within my art practice and I see the Awesome Foundation as a prime opportunity to realize an interactive installation. I have produced a few large scale sculptures over the past three years and am aware of strong considerations towards public safety as well as structural integrity. My proposal involves realizing a project that I have wanted to undertake for some time now; I have produced several small scale renderings as well as assessed many aspects involved with fabricating the idea.

With that in mind, I propose to create a very unique teeter-totter which will be partially constructed out of recycled, repurposed, and scavenged materials. A Canadian artist who I recently met in NYC is also a professional arborist and Mr. Neilson already has an array of 8-12 foot incredibly strong cedar tree trunks which he offered for me to choose from. The most structurally important and costly element of the sculpture will be the base of the teeter-totter which will be built out of pressure treated lumber 8x8’s in a traditional style along with truck suspension springs to control the pivoting of the cedar tree, which will act as the cross beam that people sit on; Largely fastened together with lock-tight large size nuts and bolts to prevent theft or “tomfoolery”. Furthermore, apart from the cedar tree trunk sourced elements will be added such as bicycle handle bars for holding onto while bouncing, along with shredded car tires for seating and various items to customize as well as add aesthetic value to the unique feature. A pre-emptive focus will be put towards stripping the bark off the tree trunk and applying a professional finish that will make the trunk structurally sustainable for many years.