Abstract Wall Art from Reclaimed Wood

The Story

The large majority of my upcycling projects are practical and have a function—tables and shelves, and so on. Sometimes, though, I’m inspired to make something more artsy. For this piece I used a lot of pallet wood, selecting nice straight pieces with the same width, but also aiming to feature lots of nail heads and original saw marks—even after lots of sanding. I started with the square piece in the center and worked my way outward in a counter-clockwise spiral, custom cutting each next piece to length. After dry fitting, I custom stained each piece for maximum variety, and finished them all with three coats of Minwax water-based clear satin Polycrylic. The pieces were glued one or two at a time to a backing piece of plywood. I created the frame from one originally long piece of pine that I found curbside in my neighborhood. I made sure to feature knots and holes for additional rustic charm. The four sides also got stained and clear coated before being glued around the perimeter. This design could also work as a table top; maybe I’ll try that sometime.