In this project, I was thinking about my practice as a maker using reclaimed materials and found objects in her work, and my perspective as a woman. Piecing the mangle board together from smaller, reclaimed scraps made sense from both angles. The process of joining each board is recorded in the surface and reads both as a history of the piece’s construction and as the singular aesthetic quality. In building this way, I emphasized the individual scraps (and to some degree their original shapes – though the band sawn joinery is obviously an addition, I changed the exterior shapes of each scrap as little as possible).

The joinery, variety of woods used, and dark glue lines call attention to each piece, reinforcing their history as reclaimed materials and referencing traditions found more often in quilting and textiles than in woodworking. Similarly, the title hints at a previous existence for the scraps in this piece, and references a frugal and utilitarian practice in cooking – a reminder of the roll that women have traditionally played in their households as makers making do.