Wood you wear this? Artist creates incredible clothes carved from timber



Here's an artist that likes to go against the grain - making incredible life-like clothes out of wood.

Fraser Smith, from Natchez, Mississippi, is a master woodcarver who tries to fool the eye with his intricate sculpting skills using a art technique called trompe l'oeil.

He's made almost an entire wardrobe including bomber jackets, leather jackets, quilts, baseball caps and basketball shirts.

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Fraser Smith, from Natchez, Mississippi, uses an art technique called trompe l'oeil to create his masterpieces Mr Smith said: 'Each piece is carved from a single block of basswood and stained with water-based pigments.'

The 54-year-old, who has been carving since the age of 10, said: 'I make trompe l'oeil wood sculptures of items made of fabric or leather.

'My subject matter is drawn from things that we tend to save, or cherish even after they are no longer useful; an old jacket that may not fit anymore, but we still keep it in the back of the closet, quilts, farmers' hats, and other items we might want to keep simply for the memories they hold.

'I didn't necessarily go into it thinking of anything other than the object itself, but when I finished a few pieces, I realised that when you hang a coat, or a quilt (or anything) on a wall, where that object normally wouldn't be, you create all sorts of interesting things in people's minds.

'They see it, and ask themselves, "Interesting coat, but why’s it hanging in the dining room?" It has to do with the context of the coat hanging where you normally wouldn’t hang one. People will see it, and make some sort of judgment.

'A while later, they’ll learn what it's made of, or bump into it, and realise it's made of wood, and they'll have to immediately change everything they thought of it. Some are excited, like they'd just seen magic.



'As for the technique, I try to fool the eye from about 3ft, not 3in. Each piece is carved from a single block of basswood and stained with water-based pigments.

Mr Smith has made almost an entire wardrobe including bomber jackets, leather jackets, quilts, baseball caps and basketball shirts

Mr Smith's work is on display at the Russeck Gallery in Palm Beach, Florida Realistic: Mr Smith's artwork is specially stained to give an illusion to the viewer