I would like to take a moment to do my part to introduce Karma Kids to a broader audience. The idea is children making art every Tuesday in Sag Harbor NY that will be sold at the end of the summer to benefit children’s causes around the world. The classes are taught by artists who volunteer their time and expertise to engage the children in new and exciting projects. The classes are free but the artwork remains behind to be part of the auction. A simple way to engage children and artists in a broader dialogue that benefits everyone. Many thanks to Sam Christie for all of her hard work in establishing this project.

The website has just launched
www.karmakidsart.org

The facebook page is up and now all that is missing is the ability to donate by PayPal!
facebook

I had my first opportunity to run the class a few weeks ago. It was a blast! The project was making and decorating a wooden wall sculpture to hold keys. I cut and pre drilled plywood that would act as the canvass for the project. The next step was to select a variety of scrap from my vast collection and cut them into interesting shapes. Recycling at its best!

I am not usually this organized but I wanted things to go smoothly.

I brought an assortment of hammers and asked the children to choose one when it was their turn to hammer in the dowels.

Now for the fun part. I held the dowels while each kid took a turn. They were an accurate bunch. Not even one errant blow!

The next part of the project involved decorating the plywood boards by gluing the scrap pieces on.

I know that I will be buying two of these at the auction on August 28! Thanks to all of the Karma Kids for making this so much fun!

All photos except for the first courtesy of Marcia Ciriello Photography

By Nico Yektai -
New York based designer/maker Nico Yektai opened the doors to his Hamptons studio in 1995 after completing the MFA program at the School For American Craft at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The rigorous technical training complimented his background in Art History, which he studied, at Hobart College in Geneva NY. Yektai has synthesized this background into a singular style that has gained him national attention. Visit nicoyektai.com for more information

Tags: FBn

There is a nice article in the latest issue of Hamptons Magazine about Michael Hennessy Home in NYC. The gallery is on 207 West 18th Street and features works by artists with a connection to Long Island. I have Outdoor Bench #3 with them and I look forward to a continuing relationship with them.

Look for the latest issue of Hamptons Magazine pictured below and make sure to visit Michael Hennessy Home when in NYC. mhhome.net

Below is a snippet from the article which can be found here. Outdoor Bench #3 is paired with a painting by Eric Ernst.

By Nico Yektai -
New York based designer/maker Nico Yektai opened the doors to his Hamptons studio in 1995 after completing the MFA program at the School For American Craft at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The rigorous technical training complimented his background in Art History, which he studied, at Hobart College in Geneva NY. Yektai has synthesized this background into a singular style that has gained him national attention. Visit nicoyektai.com for more information

Tags: FBn

I have cleared some other work from my studio and I am back on the new concrete bench full time. In the last post I had filled the forms with concrete. The next step is to remove the casting from the form. This should give a better idea of how the whole casting process works.

First I turn the form over so that i can remove all of the screws and bolts.

The pieces start to come off. The small blue circles are plastic inserts buried in the concrete to allow a soft foot to be screwed to the casting. This will protect the floor of the bench is to be used indoors. This bench is going outdoors on a concrete patio so the foot will serve as a shock absorbing transition. Without it the leg would surely chip. The brown and white and blue mess in the center is apiece of foam that formed the relief in the foot detail.

With the side piece removed the white PVC edge is revealed. This insert forms a very important detail in the leg. Lets take off more!

You can clearly see the recess formed by the foam block. Remember that the leg is upside down.

The last piece off will be the PVC board that formed the step detail in the face of the leg

Here it is removed and the leg is now in the proper position.

The rest of the shaping on the leg will be done with this wet grinder. Before I tackle the final detailing I need to focus on the seat.

Here we go! I begin by cutting and gluing together foam. The foam will help make the seat lighter. The next installment will focus on the stainless steel that will reinforce the seat.

Concrete Bench Part 1
Concrete Bench Part 2

By Nico Yektai -
New York based designer/maker Nico Yektai opened the doors to his Hamptons studio in 1995 after completing the MFA program at the School For American Craft at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The rigorous technical training complimented his background in Art History, which he studied, at Hobart College in Geneva NY. Yektai has synthesized this background into a singular style that has gained him national attention. Visit nicoyektai.com for more information

Tags: Work In Progress