The Chair Project

Household Goods Recycling of Massachusetts is a not-for-profit group. It collects unwanted furniture, stores it, and redistributes it to those in need.

They noticed that, while folks welcomed dining room sets, single chairs went unclaimed. What to do? Make art. A call went out to local artists: come claim a chair. Paint, decorate, take the chairs apart and remake them into sculptures – anything you want - as long as you had the results back by March.

I got the very last chair, a homely, cracked maple chair right out of my childhood:A collage I'd been working on became the backrest. It also got me thinking about spring: I imagined the chair sitting outside, plants twining up the legs. Words joined the piece:A little bird built its nest out of twigs and fabric scraps:

Voila. I called it "Nest/Rest" and dropped it off last week.

You can see another transformation, by Margot Stage, here.

Chairs will soon be displayed in local libraries and businesses. The finished works will be auctioned on-line through cMarket in April, 2009 and on-site at Powers Gallery in Acton on May 1, 2009. All proceeds will go towards HGRM. Wheee!