This Mesmerizing Picnic Table Looks Like A Massive Branching Tree
This wooden outdoor table designed by an artist named Michael Beitz has made quite a few rounds on social media. Stretching to 20 feet by 50 feet, the massive design was named Tree Picnic. The table includes a tabletop with an attached seating area, all made to resemble a branching tree. “I really wanted to create a beautiful spot for people to spend time and for kids to remember,” the artist told Bored Panda when talking about his designed piece.
More info: Michael Beitz | Instagram
Image credits: Michael Beitz
The Tree Picnic table design was created some 6 years ago. “The Tree Table was my contribution to a larger community project titled ArtFarms in Buffalo, NY. I was approached by NYC-based artist and architect David Lage, who organized and created the ArtFarms project,” Michael told Bored Panda.
Image credits: Michael Beitz
“I was asked to create a ‘grow structure’ intended for vegetables, but I decided to design an organically-shaped table to act as a sort of ‘grow structure’ for people that would be surrounded by an apple orchard,” the artist explained.
Image credits: Michael Beitz
Michael Beitz told Bored Panda that his main aim was to create a beautiful spot for people to spend time with their families. “I wanted the fruit trees to grow while the table itself started to decay over the years. The intention behind the tree table concept itself is to express a sense of time and growth of the family/community,” he said.
Image credits: Michael Beitz
The artist told us that he used Beetle Kill Blue Pine wood supplied by a local lumberer for his design. “The Beetle Kill Pine is known as being ‘dead standing timber’ as it is killed by bark beetles. The insects have a fungus which changes the color of the tree into tones you might not expect, like blue, purple, pink, or orange,” Michael pointed out.
Image credits: Michael Beitz
“I spent about two months creating the table and it was unlike anything I had made before, so I quite enjoyed it,” Michael told Bored Panda. When asked when his career as an artist started out, Michael was uncertain: “Yikes,” he wrote. “I became serious about making things as a teenager, but I am not sure if that means my career started then. I guess it did because I had sold a few pieces back then.”
Image credits: Michael Beitz
What’s next for this imaginative artist? “I have so many things I want to work on in the future and I would love to share them with you when they are finished. I am excited to spend the next several months drawing and brainstorming with my 2-year-old son, Sasha,” he shared with Bored Panda. Hopefully, we’ll be featuring his new projects on Bored Panda in no time!
Image credits: Michael Beitz
What do you think of the Tree Picnic design? Would you want one in your local park/community?
Here’s what people online thought
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I love it, but one feature is missing... None of the ends have the ADA overhang for use by people in wheelchairs.
Good point. Remedying that situation is quite doable too.
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Wait, he was asked to create a 'grow structure' for vegetables...But made this instead? And they were still cool with paying him, and putting it on permanent display? How odd. That's exactly NOT how commissioned art works. "Hey, paint me a southwestern landscape. Here's money." "Nah, I felt like painting a steampunk sci-fi portrait instead."
Do you really need to see the whole correspondence? I am certain that you are jumping to unfounded conclusions.
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I don't know which is more amazing, the creativity or the craftsmanship. (PS.... is there a non gendered word for craftsmanship? Craftspersonship?)
I think this table is perfect for COVID! You can social distance....
Very special. It would have been easy to extend the ends or leave spaces in the seating areas for wheelchairs for adults and children..
at first i honestly thought it's a deer lying sideways :D great idea and execution
I love it, but one feature is missing... None of the ends have the ADA overhang for use by people in wheelchairs.
Good point. Remedying that situation is quite doable too.
Load More Replies... Wait, he was asked to create a 'grow structure' for vegetables...But made this instead? And they were still cool with paying him, and putting it on permanent display? How odd. That's exactly NOT how commissioned art works. "Hey, paint me a southwestern landscape. Here's money." "Nah, I felt like painting a steampunk sci-fi portrait instead."
Do you really need to see the whole correspondence? I am certain that you are jumping to unfounded conclusions.
Load More Replies... I don't know which is more amazing, the creativity or the craftsmanship. (PS.... is there a non gendered word for craftsmanship? Craftspersonship?)
I think this table is perfect for COVID! You can social distance....
Very special. It would have been easy to extend the ends or leave spaces in the seating areas for wheelchairs for adults and children..
at first i honestly thought it's a deer lying sideways :D great idea and execution
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