USING FOUND OBJECTS AS A DESIGN MEDIUM, AN ARTIST CRAFTS ETHEREAL PENDANTS.
A pendant crafted from tumbleweeds. PHOTO BY MATTHEW BERGSMA
OWEN MORTENSEN gathers tumbleweeds along the rural roads near his home in Northern Utah and carefully pieces them together to make delightful pendant lights (owenmortensen.com). Mortensen’s artwork relies on the natural aesthetics of each element, whether it’s a bison skull, antler or tumbleweed to do the visual heavy lifting. He describes his work as organic minimalism, melding clean, simple design with the textures of nature. “The landscape of the high mountain desert of Northern Utah is raw and unpretentious. The seasons are stark,” he says. “I believe my art is similar in that it lacks frivolity. It is what it is.” Set in a modern space, the tumbleweed pendants are simply stunning. Mortensen recently launched a new design studio and art house brand called Farmhaus showcasing his work and the work of other artists who explore the textures of the American West through a minimal, modern lens. In Colorado, look for Mortensen’s tumbleweeds at Telluride’s Mixx Projects (mixxprojects.com).
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