The Person
Ike Wynter is an eco-sustainable wood artist born & raised in Milwaukee, WI. His claim to fame in the wood art world is that he uses 100% reclaimed wood but furthermore has never stained or painted a piece of wood in his life - creating an additional challenge within his work to find all the colors he uses in his pieces. He gathered the attention of numerous celebrities and brands early on with his story, and now has curated a very dedicated fanbase of 300,000 followers on social media who have watched his journey of knowing nothing about the art world to now making pieces of art for people like Mike Tyson, Mrs. Meyers Brands, Kyle Walker, and many others. His relentless passion for his craft and "delusionally optimistic" spirit is seen daily within his content, and he inspires millions around the world to not only pursue the greatest versions of themselves but the simple daily reminders of just waking up with gratitude & optimism everyday. All of his work is made exclusively in Milwaukee and crafted from things that the community throws out, and he also has a huge initiative to build up the awareness of our city globally through his art and live events.
The Process
Yep, that’s right - No stain or paint has ever been used to make this art within Ike’s process.
The entire process has always stemmed off of 1 core principle: To repurpose wood after it has gone through its life cycle as its original object (furniture, chests, drawers, etc..) and give it a new life within a piece of art. The bulk of this wood used is retrieved by digging through dumpsters & keeping an open eye while driving down the road seeing what is at the curb every day at businesses and residences. Every single piece of wood ever used within his art has always been found, never bought, and has existed as something else in the world. While looking at the pieces you can see all the flaws & imperfections that were created in its original life cycle because other than things being cut to size - this wood is never altered using any stains, paints, or chemicals to bring out any colors. It exists merely as it was found - just cut into smaller pieces. This whole process is met with great joy & determination to be able to recreate iconic nostalgic images as accurately as possible while the bulk of that adventure is determined by what items are found out on the streets everyday.
The Mindset
While this art is very intricate and is very attentive to detail in every which way - it is created merely as a vessel in which Ike wants to find more ways to breathe his delusionally optimistic mindset into the world around him, and hopefully reach his audience in a way to remind them of what a gift it is to wake up every single day. This is not stemmed from any sort of religious or organized practice in any type - Just a “big world picture” way of thinking of how to view life and to practice gratitude, optimism, and perspective in your every day ongoings. Ike’s beliefs stems from inclusion of all walks of life, and the simple practices of treating everyone you interact with on a daily basis in a kind manner.
“Don’t try to change the world. Find something that you love, do it every day, and eventually the world will change..”
