Cleveland's Rare Urban Sawmill Helps Make Use Of It's Great Trees

Many of us in Pittsburgh were moved by the work of Urban Tree Forge which worked to turn local trees into great works of art furniture.

Freshwater Cleveland profiles Metro Hardwoods, one of very few (and the first) urban sawmills making use of this enormous asset.

""It's nice to open up a log and find interesting patterns," he explains, pointing out in a nearby slab prized "flaws" such as a gnarled grain or burled hue. "You don't find a lot of that in trees from the country that grow straighter and have more generic grains. Grown under the stress of city conditions is where you get the character."

Word of mouth is how folks find out about Metro, says Heidelberg, who started his company at the age of 23. Lately, word seems to be spreading faster than he can keep up. Running counter to our race to the bottom in terms of fast, cheap and temporary products is a growing trend toward local, sustainable and handmade stuff. Heidelberg's locally-harvested timber fits the bill."

WDUQ's Artists On-Air Series Profiles The Great Pittsburgh Wood Artist, John Metzler

It's right around this time last year when a tragic accident took away one of the most promising and ultimately influential artists in the city.

"Pittsburgh loses lots of trees to development, disease and pests every year and the Urban Tree Forge gives some of the timber a second life as building material, furniture and art. The woodworker John Metzler founded the organization. He was killed in May 2010 by a runaway U-haul trailer as he cut wood outside the Forge. Larkin Page-Jacobs has his artist profile."

See the full story and listen here.

John Metzler Memorial Tree Dedication 5/23/2010

This information is from The Pittsburgh Arts Blog:

tree-dedication memorial :: sunday, may 23, 2010 – 12p.m.Allegheny Commons
Park, West Park, North Side, PittsburghCorner of Brighton Road & West North
Avenue (near the lake)

pot-luck luncheon following :: at the new hazlett
theaterAllegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15212412.320.4610 –
www.newhazletttheater.org guests are encouraged to bring a dish to share,
beverages will be provided.

There are also some great pictures of John and of his work on the Pittsburgh Arts Blog:

http://pittsburghgalleries.blogspot.com/2010/05/in-memory-of-pittsburgh-artist-john.html

JOHN F. METZLER Founder of Urban Tree Forge Dies at age 46

John Metzler, Founder of Urban Tree Forge died at age 46 on May 13th, 2010. John was an extremely active member of the Pittsburgh art community, both as a creator of imaginative powerful works made from reclaimed wood, and a supporter of the arts who attended countless events, often with his longtime partner, Pittsburgh artist Randie Snow. John was killed in a shocking accident in which a uhaul trailer on a road nearby came unhinged, striking him while he was outside of his studio working on a piece.

John was doing a lot of interesting and important work. The Post-Gazette had just done a profile on John in their May 2nd, 2010 issue:http://www.postgazette.com/pg/10122/1054556-437.stm?cmpid=newspanel0 Every city would certainly benefit from having an Urban Tree Forge, and hopefully the work at The Forge will be able to continue.

Sadly, his news obituary can be read here:http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10135/1058360-122.stm

Information about funeral arrangments can be found here:http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/postgazette/obituary.aspx?n=john-f-metzler&pid=142791143

John Morris and I really admired his beautiful pieces, his contribution to making Pittsburgh a livable city, and his passion for recycling wonderful old trees. And I am sure we have a lot of company.