Rejects from the Bat Factory

Mark Sfirri first began turning wood in the 1970s while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design under seminal wood artist Tage Frid. Around 1976 he began creatively using the multiple-axis technique, which he employed to make these humorous bats. This entails repeatedly repositioning a piece of wood on the lathe at different angles during the turning process. The cubist rack is meant to conjure up the work of seminal studio furniture maker and sculptor Wharton Esherick (1887-1970), as are the ash bats, which reference Esherick's use of ash axe handles in the production of a series of stools. Ash is also the principal material used in making baseball bats.