Gallery 69 – Dave Polaschek

Right before I officially opened Gallery 69 I posted the following on Mastodon:

I’m opening a gallery this week. Sure, it’s in my front yard, and it can only handle small art… but the Free Little Art Gallery is (nearly) open!

Let me know if you want to contribute any art.

Woodworker Dave Polaschek said “What’s your address?” and I gave it to him and in no time he shipped a box of objects to me. It was the first to arrive, and I wanted to thank Dave (and congratulate him) for being the first one to send a package to the gallery. Cheers! So what was inside? Well, check the photos! Things from Dave’s woodshop. He also provided info on everything, so I’ll expand below.

The shot glass is birch from Timber Bay Lodge in Babbitt, Minnesota which was stabilized with black-dyed acrylic. (It might not be food-safe though, so don’t drink from it!) You can find more info about it on lumberjocks.com

While I’ve 3D printed a shot glass in the past I don’t think I’ve even seen a wooden shot glass. It’s pretty cool, and I hope someone takes it and appreciates it.

This bird (or “birb” as Dave called it) looks amazing. It was carved from juniper found in Dave’s back yard in New Mexico in September 2022. Hand-carving is one of those things I’m always fascinated by… My own skills lie elsewhere but I always appreciate a nice piece of wood shaped into something beautiful.

Again there’s a bit more info on Dave’s “birbs” on the lumberjocks.com site.

Finally there are two tops which were made in November 2021. One of them is pine and the other is a tropical hardwood (maybe granadillo). Both of them have been figited with in the shop and are a little dinged up. Dave suggested I add some paste wax to them (and I did) so they are nice objects but can also just functions as toys.

Thanks for reading this! You can check out more of Dave’s art at peekachello.art as well as write.as/davepolaschek

Gallery 69 is a Free Little Art Gallery located on 69th street just north of Locust street in the Enderis Park neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.