Events & Calendars "City Bench Live: An Eco-Urban Assemblage with Sculptor Ted Esselstyn"

Arts at Amherst Presents "City Bench Live: An Eco-Urban Assemblage with Sculptor Ted Esselstyn"

In this daylong workshop, community members will be able to watch Master Carpenter Ted Esselstyn make a new bench for the community by up-cycling "Street Trees," which are trees that have had to be torn down for various reasons. He then uses this recycled wood and turns it into sustainable, eco-artistic and unique pieces of furniture. During this demonstration, community members are invited to both observe and ask Ted questions about his sustainability practices in art and more.

More about City Bench:
"City Bench grew out of our passion for building beautiful objects with meaning and a story. It also grew out of a reverence for the trees that line our streets, fill our public spaces and enliven our campuses. Those trees represent our shared space and generations of common stories—they are also a vital and overlooked resource.

"There are over 70 billion trees in U.S. metropolitan areas. New Haven removes more than 600 trees each year, New York City fells 7,000, and hundreds of thousands more come down across the country. Most of these grand, historic trees are relegated to the landfill, ground into mulch or chopped into firewood each year.

"We extend the life left in those trees by building uniquely handcrafted furniture that tells their stories. Community and connection to place are built into everything we create—whether that community is a big city, a small town, or a much-loved school. Our pieces have a 'birth certificate' describing the tree’s origin, significance and story. Our aim is to build a meaningful and lasting enterprise, which creates positive environmental and social change and contributes to the vitality of the communities in which we operate."