Tucked between the fresh squash and cucumbers at the Lansing City Market is a booth featuring "found" objects-turned-art.
Picture a dish formed of the remains of a smashed windshield; a wine bottle melted almost to oblivion but captured in time to become a serving dish; or an eagle with wings of silver knives and tail feathers of butter spreaders.
Such is the market space of Riverside Studios, operated by Kevin and Karen Nichols of Dimondale, two artists raising four children, ages 10 to 16, and eeking out a living with their art.
Karen is the glass worker; Kevin the silver guy. Most of his supplies have come from the places of castoffs, like Volunteers of America or Goodwill.
Kevin made hundreds of bracelets out of spoon handles, but he was never quite able to dispose of the remaining bowl parts of the spoons, so he had a mountain of them.
One day he noticed that when held together just so, the bowls resembled a tulip. However, making them stick was another matter. Ordinary lead solder wouldn’t work, and a soldering iron tended to melt the silver before fusing it.
So he began experimenting with a combination of solder and ice water. Twenty hours later, he had a silver tulip, complete with fork-tine stamens. Now he makes entire bouquets of flowers.
The Nichols family is a Harley-Davidson motorcycle family, so Kevin is working on a replica of their pastime, made entirely of spoons.
He manages the City Market booth, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Karen runs the household, cares for the children, and works at home.
Source: Kevin Nichols, Riverside Studios
Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached here.
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