Trash cans at the Westin Austin Downtown

I was recently commissioned to create original artwork in rooms which practically all conference attendees at a downtown Austin hotel will visit.

The artful objects:  trash cans.  The location:  the conference room bathrooms.
Yes, bathrooms!

Initially slightly dejected that my forging efforts would be in such tucked-away locales, I reframed my thinking:  I would bring artistic merit to a ubiquitous and functional object.  And my work would be seen by hundreds of conference attendees daily!..

Metal straps wrap around the stained and sealed plywood boxes built by Mike Drejza, attached via glued-in rivets.  The forged metal accents were made using  5/8” square bar and the art dies on my 25-lb. Little Giant.  Nesting inside each box is a steel cage around which a plastic trash bag can be tied, allowing for easy change-out of the inner liner by housekeeping staff.
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As I was delivering the trash cans, a passerby in the hotel lobby commented that they were sculptural.  “Yes!,” I enthusiastically replied.  Someone had already noticed. 

Dimensions of the trash cans vary, with the largest cans at 35” tall x 15” wide x 15” deep, and the smallest can at 26” tall x 15” wide x 8” deep.