Tangled Art is the name of Monko's business and the idea was conceived during a trip to Alaska. Stopping to view Tangle Lakes along the Denali Highway, [he was] inspired and made the commitment to pursue a dream. Michael continues to be inspired by the lush forests of the rugged Sierras and says, "I love the area and feel fortunate to be a part of this supportive community."

Jay Uhlenbrauck recently profiled Tangled Art in the May 2002 edition of Log Home Design Ideas magazine. The pictorial article entitled "A Master's Touch" is featured in the Art of the Home section. His work was recently accepted into an exhibit at the Gualala Art Center in the Mendocino area.

Monko's other passion is music. Before discovering the joys of woodworking, he avidly pursued his musical interests by performing and recording in the San Francisco Bay Area. He attributes much of his ability to focus on detail to his musical training.

"Although much of my work could be considered 'rustic', I prefer not to think of it this way exclusively. I'm fascinated with traditional craftsmanship, and also use dimensional lumber to allow for myriad possibilities". Monko continues, "Symmetry and proportion are important to me and the natural landscape is proportionately perfect. Rivers winding through canyons—the random scattering of rocks over the earth—the adaptation of trees for their survival: these are my teachers and templates. It is not possible to duplicate Mother Nature's intricacies. It is my goal, however, to allow her to influence my creative flow.

One such example is a mirror designed to frame faces with a cluster of branches: they seem to run their gnarled fingers through a reflection of tresses. This piece is currently on display in the lobby of the Yuba Theatre in Downieville as part of the Sierra County Arts Council's Arts in Public Places Program. For more information, contact Curator Janet Drummond at (530)994-3649 or visit Michael's website at www.tangledart.com.

But it is more than a twist of fate that turns this wayward wood into tangled art. Monko spends hours handcrafting every facet of his furniture. Time-honored, 'through mortise and tenon' joinery isn't hidden in Monko's work, but rather highlighted to stand as a badge of artistry displaying his careful craftsmanship.

It's about as far from the assembly line as you can get. Each stage of construction is performed one at a time, often transforming the furniture as it's created. "It's pretty tedious," Monko says. But he wouldn't have it any other way.

Usually I have an idea eating at me and then I'll look for pieces that fit that idea," he says. "Many times I'll come across a piece of wood and it evolves into something completely different. Each piece is one-of-a-kind."

His rustic yet refined style is shaped by his love for nature, his artistic drive and by his self-taught techniques. Monko says he has benefited from teaching himself the craft and inventing his own techniques. "Then I understand exactly how it is done," he says.

He uses hemp twine, jute and fiber rush to hand-weave seats and backs onto his chairs. It's a process that sometimes takes up to 40 hours to complete. He doesn't mind the detail work, however. In fact, he thrives on it. "I can't help but be that way. It would be more difficult for me to have to slap something together real quick."

Michael's other passion, music, was his first professional artistic endeavor. He played guitar and bass for bands across the San Francisco Bay area but decided, "it's a hard avenue to go down. There are a lot of musicians and not too many make it."

Monko started building furniture in 1995. Although he says he enjoyed the cooperative effort of being part of a band, he really fell in love with the freedom of building furniture. It gave him a way to express himself individually without interference from anyone else's creative influence.

Being self-taught, though, it took him a couple years to get comfortable building furniture. So how long did it take him to get good at it?

"I'm still trying to get good at it," he says. "It's a lifelong process. I will always be learning."

Trees
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"Although much of my work could be considered rustic, I prefer not to think of it that way exclusively." Monko said, and added that he creates furniture that includes wood in its natural form but uses dimensional lumber as well. "I do not limit myself to one or the other, which I feel allows me infinite creative possibilities."

A light breeze rustled through the tall pines recently as Monko worked at his outdoor homemade shaving horse, peeling bark from tree limbs in preparation for making a new piece of furniture.

He carefully peels the bark from each limb by hand. He uses various types of wood, from pine to douglas fir to oak. He stresses that he does not cut down trees to get his wood, but usually acquires limbs that were destined for the chipper.

Monko has an art and music background but once he began woodworking he found it fulfilled and satisfied his creative urges. He works in the traditional manner, building each piece by hand and using techniques such as mortise and tenon joinery and a style of seat weaving in his chairs that is unique. The weaving process sometimes takes almost as long as building the chair itself.

Monko sands his work until it is absolutely smooth, then adds three or more coats of varnish, polishing until the work reaches a satin luster.

Monko started his woodworking business, Tangled Art, in 1999 after a three month journey to Alaska. The name was inspired by the landscape in the Tangle Lakes area of Alaska, off the Denali Highway.