Created for the Michigan Regional Council Carpenter & Millwright Detroit Training Center, this five-piece installation honors Detroit’s industrial backbone and the enduring grit of the trades that built it. Anchoring the lower foyer is a custom CNC-cut cityscape of Detroit. a precise, architectural rendering that pays tribute to a skyline forged in steel, labor, and resilience.

Beyond the entry, three large-scale sculptural works face the training floor, representing the Carpenters, Floor Layers, and Millwrights. The living crafts that continue Detroit’s legacy of building. Upstairs, antique wooden Levels are installed across extending the narrative and reinforcing the idea of knowledge rising through disciplined hands and shared skill.

Each piece incorporates vintage and antique tools, transforming occupation-related Industrial Arts into dimensional wall sculptures. Securely mounted and architecturally integrated, the works are designed for permanence and durability; the steadfast nature of the Brotherhood itself. Together, the installation speaks to Detroit’s rust belt history: forged through labor, strengthened by community, and continually rebuilt by the hands of those who refuse to let it rust away.

Blades

Constructed from reclaimed saw blades and specialized millwright machine seals, this sculptural wall Installation captures both precision and motion. The polished metal surfaces catch the light as you pass, creating a subtle shimmer that makes the work feel almost kinetic. It shifts and feels alive from every angle. Varying lengths extend outward from the wall, adding depth and dimension while maintaining a careful sense of balance. The interplay of sharp geometry and rhythmic spacing brings harmony to the space, transforming industrial materials into something unexpectedly luminous.

Soundwave

This piece was created by speaking the center’s full name, “Detroit Michigan Regional Council Carpenter & Millwright Training Center”, into a sound recording and translating the resulting waveform into physical form. Using vintage wooden carpentry rulers, the sound wave was reconstructed in dimensional space, transforming voice into structure.

The work bridges language and labor, turning the spoken identity of the training center into something measurable, tangible, and built by hand. The rulers; tools of precision and trade, become the visual rhythm of the name itself, capturing the cadence, rise, and fall of sound. In this way, the building quite literally holds its own voice within its walls.

Wooden Levels

Composed of 103 wooden levels, this sculptural wall installation extends outward in varying depths, creating a dimensional sequence that moves beyond the flat surface of the wall. Arranged to evoke the rhythm and structure of a genetic code, each level becomes a unit of inherited knowledge. building upon the next in an intentional and intricate pattern.

The projection from the wall introduces shadow, depth, and movement, allowing the piece to shift subtly. Like DNA, it reflects a living system: structured, precise, and continually evolving. The work honors the idea that craftsmanship is not accidental, but encoded through mentorship, discipline, and shared experience; passed from one generation of tradespeople to the next.

Wrenches

This expansive installation spans nearly 20 feet, featuring wrenches arranged in a bold, circular pattern that pulses with industrial energy. Each tool is carefully positioned, extending outward from the wall and transforms familiar implements of labor into a dynamic, sculptural rhythm. The composition evokes machinery in motion, echoing the precision, strength, and grit of the Millwright trade. It is both a visual and visceral homage, honoring the skill, dedication, and enduring legacy of the Millwrights within the training center.