Maricopa Caravel

As 2020 unfolded and we made the choice to leave California and return to Oregon, this project turned out to be the last of it’s kind, the closing of a chapter and the end of an era, and so has transformed into somewhat of an homage to our time in California. And yet, it also contains the grit and spirit of Maricopa County where we picked it up: the timeless beauty of the desert and the twang of an old-timey country song.

Sure, the trailer was beautiful to begin with (as these sixties relics are want to be), but Parker wanted to up the ante. A studio artist as well as a craftsman, Parker had been thinking about combining his reclaimed wood craft with an Airstream renovation for quite some time, and this was the perfect opportunity. 

The lath that Parker used to create the floor came from a home he’s presently remodeling in Seattle. The home was built in 1924, and while most of the material was no longer usable, Parker was able to salvage these pieces. He brought them back to the workshop in Winters, sanded, painted, and treated them, and set to work. He decided against a perfectly consistent pattern, opting instead for the creative force of chance, disorder, even chaos. These boards are not perfect, they are not totally straight, and their presentation, apart from the design, contains little rhyme or reason, a perfect foundation for art meant to be lived in. Life isn’t perfect, and art probably shouldn’t be either. 

The history and aesthetics of this work can’t help but remind us of our time in Winters and the broader Capay Valley. There’s so much rich history there, and folks from all walks of life who are doing their best to re-use, re-interpret, and preserve remnants of the past, often in artwork of the present and future. Not to mention, the beautiful caramel color of the cushions, the sheen of the exterior polish, and the little touches inside that make this Caravel as cozy as it is craftsman all come together to suggest that ‘California’ style of combining the hard with the soft, the indoors with out, adventure and home. And so, this little baby is a nod to our own past, and will soon be on her way to brightening someone else’s future.