What People are saying
Artists at Tyler
Tyler Arboretum Blog - Written by Kathryn Ombam, October 5th, 2021
Wood artists Bethany Formica and Conrad Bender of Sawdust Siren have taken wood from trees that had naturally fallen (or had to be removed because of storm damage) and turned them into beautiful objects. Their glorious, sculptural bowl from our Slingshot Tulip recently was part of our Tyler at Twilight auction.
Slingshot Bowl, Bethany Formica and Conrad Bender, 2021
Customer love
Every day I sit at my computer and next to me is a lovingly turned wooden bowl handmade and love-infused by this heartful creative. There is a history, a full lineage, life story, and rich personality to this sweet little bowl, I am pretty sure it even has a first name!
Beth choreographs magical creative whimsy and soulful depth in everything she touches. I really can’t explain it all quite fully, so just take a and become enamored by her bowls, earrings, mirrors, candles, and old timey speakers. If you’re lucky one of her sweet wooden penguins will dance into your life too.
So why just own or gift things? Instead buy enchanted one of a kind handmade earthborn creations by a local artist at great prices....and the infusion of love comes free. Re-imagine the discarded. - Nina Sherak, 2021
The Swarthmorean, Dec. 4, 2019, Written by Rachel Pastan. Check out this article about our annual holiday sale.
Not Ephemeral
Bethany Formica is one of the originators of the sale, which takes place in the house she shares with her husband, Conrad Bender, and their bearded collie, Gus. Formica is a modern dancer, choreographer, and teacher who has been performing for thirty years. More recently, she has become a woodworker, too. “The amazing thing about working with wood is that it’s not ephemeral,” she says. “At the end of the day, I can say, I made this.”
Formica and Bender make bowls, boards, benches, and their signature “sawdust sirens”: acoustic amplifiers for cell phones made out of wood and old-fashioned phonograph horns. Years ago, Formica saw a similar amplifier in a magazine and figured out how to make one. She kept it around the house for years until the other sale originator, Martha Perkins, convinced her that other people would want them too. “Then we got obsessed,” Formica says. They get help from friends and neighbors who come by with horns they’ve found, or pieces of old trees. “We have a lot of wood fairies that drop things off for us. Everything [we use] is reclaimed or a gift.”