"Art is Not What You See..."

Prior to owning Core Elements Studio, I worked for many years at American Prairie – an innovative, nonprofit conserving the temperate grassland ecosystem in the northeast region of Montana. Part of my role was to focus on the relationship between the organization and the neighboring Indigenous communities.

As a longtime supporter of American Prairie, Bill was visiting the prairie and the local Aaniiih Nakoda Community to better understand the landscape and the people that inhabit it.

Several years earlier, I had transitioned out of my full time role at American Prairie, but was still involved in a part time capacity solely to focus on continuing to strengthen these important connections. Bill and I were traveling together with another trusted colleague – meeting people, sharing stories, and exploring the landscape.

Bill has had the opportunity to travel quite a bit, and has developed an avid interest in the unique skills of artisans around the world, Bill had been on his own construction venture to build his home in the Bay Area.

Along our prairie journey, when Bill learned that I was utilizing my time outside of American Prairie to make custom furniture, he invited the possibility of working together on a creative endeavor.

Bill wanted furniture that reflected the openness of his home design, while connecting with the natural materials and finishes within it.

In artistic collaborations, he offers a few guidelines and then has willingness to trust the artist. He holds collaboration as a core value, and knows experimenting is key to the process. He pushes against his own experiential boundaries, so he holds space to be open and to learn.

This is what the creative process invites – the courage to explore the unknown, the willingness to try, and the belief that something captivating will emerge.

As we bumped along the rural Montana roads, my mind was swirling on the various possibilities of custom pieces, even without ever having visited Bill’s home. We stopped alongside a collection of old fence posts offered up for firewood. At the very bottom of the pile – positioned as a brace to hold up the other wood off the moist ground – was a twisted 9-foot cedar post beaming with character and mystique.

It was then that it hit me – if we’re going to embark on this creative adventure, we needed to fully embrace the rugged Montana experience in which this creative idea was born!

So, we unloaded everything from our Suburban, laid down the seats, dug the post out from the bottom of the pile, and stretched this gnarled trunk through the interior of our vehicle, then piled our belongings on top and continued on our journey.

When I got it home, I just stared at the post and pondered. It was burned, warped, twisted, and weathered – yet, simply so exquisite. It was storied cedar from the prairie, a landscape upholding life for generation upon generation. It was perfect. My husband worked with a family friend to cut the cedar post into slabs and the concepts for the prairie river table and cedar tray began to come to life.

The next inspiration hit when I was video-chatting with Bill to get a sense of his home and aesthetic.

Bill wanted pieces that complimented his home’s architectural lines and materials, while also prioritizing his expansive views, aesthetic preferences, and functional space.

Embracing the Wabi Sabi philosophy of imperfection, incompleteness and impermanence, Bill wanted natural elements – harmonious yet distinct – that could age in place.

He wanted sleek modern designs, with softened edges and adaptable function.

While viewing Bill’s lovingly curated home through the tiny lens of my phone, he shared with me the intricate bamboo sculpture he acquired in recent travels and his hopes for a custom table on which it could proudly perch. As he showed me different angles of this intricate sculpture against the backdrop of his southern-facing views, I noticed the captivating shadow extending from the sculpture – and the idea of the Shadow Table was born.

A final result of our collaboration, the Shadow Table embodies the intentionality of the custom design-build process. Yes – the table’s minimalistic, modern design compliments the architectural lines and materials of Bill’s picturesque home. And yes – it has the contrast of natural elements against black steel, as straight lines intersect with curves and natural grains.

But more importantly – the simple-complexity of the table base design awakens the fourth-dimensional space-time concept through the anticipation of the sun’s positioning and ability to cast an array of shadows based on the positioning of the table as the sun dances through the sky.

As Edgar Degas wisely said, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”

The Shadow Table is not just a horizontal surface in which to place an object. It’s an original. It’s multi-dimensional. It makes a statement … just like Bill.

And herein lies the beauty of the creative process. Our collaboration was not merely an endeavor of interior design and aesthetic beauty (…although I must admit, those are both immensely satisfying). This artistic journey stands as a reflection of our personal experiences – past, present, and future.

The pieces now residing in Bill’s home are not only deeply symbolic of our time together on the prairie – as a daily reminder of the interconnectedness of natural elements and human synergy – but they are also a reflection of the way Bill steps forth in the world – bold, genuine, interesting, and unique.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to create physical manifestations of the human experience. This is such a beautiful representation of that process.

Photography by Kelsey Frey Creative

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“Dakota creates pieces with dimension, richness and depth. She connects with you and learns on a deep level what you want to express. Then she uses her unique skill set to forge a piece that makes a statement of who you are.”

— Prairie T.

At Core Elements Studio, my mission is to build functional art for our personal spaces—pieces that are inspired by nature’s core elements and re-imagined with a creative twist. I draw on the deep resonance of earth, the magic in the moment of fire, the creative flow of water, the meaningful connection of wood, the strength and practice of metal, and the restorative breath of air to infuse every creation with both functional purpose and aesthetic beauty. —Dakota