The Ash Borer beetle has decimated the Ash forests of North America and they are having an impact on our trees in the Grand Valley. These beetles bore through the bark and into the the tree bringing in fungi and other diseases. The borer itself can cause a lot of damage and the end result is usually the death of the tree.
I salvaged some Ash logs recently. Their wood is beautiful and hard. After milling one log for a project, I returned to another log a couple weeks later and milled it to find that it had been eaten through! My first feeling was shock and frustration, but then I began to see the beauty in the beetle’s work. After some time considering what to do with the slabs, I turned one into a bench that I filled the top beetle tunnels with resin. I left the underside unfilled and impact of the beetle’s work is impressive.
To celebrate the artistic collaboration with the Ash Borer beetle, I have given them some credit in the design of the legs which feature a set of three black chevrons just like the wing carapace of the beetle. The legs are bright steel with custom wooden feet and a black spreader.
Dimensions: 34” wide x 13” deep x 16” tall