Niall Walsh, Recycled Skateboard Guitar (STUDENT 2022)

Student:

Tertiary

Name of school or tertiary institution, and name of woodworking teacher (if you have one):

Centre for Fine Woodworking (Teacher: Dave Gilberd)

Video tour:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CeGiEmOJupf/

This guitar was made using over 8 different timber species, all thoroughly selected due to their individual attributes; Strength, plasticity, and acoustic characteristics were extremely important when making the selection, as well as the beauty of the timbers, colour combination, and the shape of the piece as a whole. The use of recycled broken skateboards to create the colourful highlights and details was a careful decision as it does not only showcases a creative expression, but it also represent my personal values of giving a piece of timber a new chance in life, a new beginning, a story of transformation. There is beauty in all timbers, new and old, Recycled or not; it is the artist’s job to appreciate it and enhance it. Learning to make this guitar was fascinating and incredibly rewarding; the process demanded the practice and mastery of multiple woodworking techniques such as wood bending, inlay work, lamination, hand-carving and the highest level of oil finishing, to name a few. The creative journey that started with an idea and some raw materials, evolved into a fully functional and beautiful instrument that brings joy to the people in the room.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.