The courting Bench

I Got it Finished!!

My submission for the Pittsburgh Technology Council's 15 Minutes Gallery 2009 Annual Art& Technology exhibition was accepted as were fellow Urban Tree Forge Artisans Jennifer Bechak and Robert Bishop. Congratulations everyone!! I submitted 3 different pieces for consideration and they chose the one of the three I had least completed… requiring the most effort to present.

It has been a mad dash to complete this sculpture in time for the opening of the exhibition this Thursday June 18, 2009. With many late nights, and the aid of some awesome friends like Jason Boone and Nate Lucas we have

“The Courting Bench”

A beautiful piece of sycamore from the Smithfield East End Cemetery complimented with a few select pieces of Allegheny Cemetery elm… and an apple bottom to round out the bottom in the back… of course.

We finally delivered the bench this past Monday afternoon.

Please join us this Thursday evening for the opening at the 15 minutes Gallery. Visit the gallery website for more information on this event and directions for getting there.

If you are not able to check out the exhibit for the opening the show will be available for viewing through August I do believe. Please stop in and take a look at some tremendous Pittsburgh artists!

Urban Forest Recycling

Wilkinsburg trees
Pilot project

This past Wednesday the 25th of February we worked in conjunction with Pittsburgh Lumberjack Tree Service, Inc. and Wilkinsburg borough to recover 4 beautiful London Plane trees along S. Braddock Ave.
Joe Suto from Lumberjack was great to work with and facilitated us getting the logs back to a lot where we can work to reclaim different sections for a variety of projects.
Kelly Frey from WTAE channel four news stopped by with Cathy working the camera to check out the endeavor and capture some footage of Lumberjacks' arborists bringing these beautiful specimens to the ground. Joan King from Wilkinsburg's shade tree commission also stopped to check on progress. Joan is responsible for contacting us originally to discuss the possibilities for working with the borough. Thank you Joan for all your hard work and dedication!!

Now the hard work begins as Urban Tree Forge's challenge is to find homes and opportunities to utilize these bastions of our urban Forest.
We already have a client for whom we can make a base for their dining table from a section, and we have a request for a sideboard cabinet for some as well. These projects will be a great start for these trees, but we need more. Please contact us here at the Urban Tree Forge if you are interested in having something made for you home or office, or if you are interested in a section you would like to work with yourself. These have some tremendous character and would be great for carving or turning as well.

Reclaimed wood available!! Murtland oak and Beech street basswood

Hey folks,
Some new trees have become available to us... Let's give them a new life!!
I had the opportunity to meet with the wonderful homeowners Tom and Bea of Point Breeze who were sad to learn their 70- 80 year old oak in front of their home must be removed because of disease.
This majestic ol' tree would certainly make a beautiful conference table or...... ? At 32" in diameter and 20 feet to the bottom branch there are certainly a tremendous number of options for this beauty to find another life in a project or home in our wonderful city of Pittsburgh. Thank you to Joel Keelen of Keelen Brothers Tree Service for the heads up on this Opportunity.
Give us a call if you have a project you feel this wonderful tree would be suited for.


We were given 6 logs of "Beech street basswood" from the North side neighborhood "The Mexican War Streets" this past week by our good friend Matt Grebner of Magnificent Manufacturing. Thanks Matt!!
This poor Linden was gilded around the root crown and it cut off circulation between the roots and the top of the tree. The tree was uprooted during a recent storm and Matt had the great insight to call us before these became more waste in our landfills.
These sections would be great for carving some unique and interesting sculptural pieces. The section with the roots attached has a variety of rocks and bricks included... this will be just amazing with a little imagination!! Perhaps a carver or turner would have an interest for a project of their own.
We would certainly be honored for the opportunity to create a commission from these cool pieces of our urban forest.
Please let us know if you have a home or project for these wonderful pieces of our wonderful city, or a commission you would be like the Urban Tree Forge to create for you.
Thanks for checking in with us.
John