The Brockport commission began when I answered a call for furniture. I submitted my proposal sketches, description of work, and cost for each piece. Under Brockport College’s new green building initiative, I was awarded two pieces by a committee to build from repurposed ash trees that had been cleared for the new academic building on campus. The first piece is a horseshoe-shaped bench. Inspired by a childhood book I chose to pay homage to the mules and horses that helped expand our nation and New York state building towns like Brockport.
My second piece commissioned was an end table for the Dean's office. The design chosen was a basket form designed to represent the vessels that carried goods on the packet barges that the horses pulled along the Erie Canal. The furniture built for this New York state college is used by faculty, students, and visitors, and is housed in the new academic building.
