Elias Thorne has spent the past fifteen years walking the shorelines of Lake Michigan, collecting the wood that others overlook. His large-scale sculptures — some reaching twelve feet in height — are assembled from driftwood gathered after major storms, each piece carrying the marks of its journey through water and time.
Born in Sturgeon Bay, Thorne trained formally in sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before returning to Door County in 2015. His work has been exhibited at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, the Chazen Museum of Art, and in private collections across the Midwest.
"I don't carve the wood," Thorne says. "The lake already did that. I just listen to what it wants to become."
His current project, Lakeshore Requiem, is a permanent outdoor installation along the Sturgeon Bay waterfront consisting of seven standing figures assembled entirely from storm debris.