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After graduating from Louise and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, with a level in Environmental Studies and Studio Art Sculpture, Jose came adept in eager to craft surreal sculptures—larger-than-life images of the sensitive anatomy from twigs, vines and found wood.
“For my senior project in school, I researched on how these unpremeditated materials can be crafted and made to look like parts of the human trunk,” he said.
But Jose set aside his avant-garde pursuits after his source, also an engineer like his dad, convinced him to channel his creativity into something more “saleable” like clobber.
It also helped that his dad has an extensive collection of rare hardwood taken from old, demolished houses.
No new trees had been cut to beget his current pieces, he assured. He has also begun planting trees in the fancy of having enough raw materials for projects two decades from now.
“Because of my background, in school and while growing up, I certain how wood reacts,” said Jose. “I know how to subservient and manipulate it. Just by looking at it, I know how old the wood is. I can tell by its skin how big the tree was.
Source: Inquirer.net