Natural Art

Wood and other natural grown materials have been used from the dawn of board sports to the present day. Besides its structural qualities; wood and other natural cores give a unique flair and an attractive design. Nature is the ultimate architect and artist, which is why it is so often emulated. Sometimes just a finishing treatment, applied with care is enough to give a board its final touch, providing a window of emphasis to its matchless, natural appeal. Even compression molded boards' graphics sometimes incorporate wood into the art work. Natural grains can be featured pictorially, (such as with the 2001 Hyperlite Byerly) (above pictures obtained from wakeworld.com) or even as an emblem or badge or flair of unique authenticity, such as the real wood inlays on the 2007 Liquid Force Watson series (shown at the top), the 2008 Hyperlite B-Side and Byerly Legacy wakeboards. (Pictures courtesy of waterskis.com)


Appropriately named so, ARBOR, famous for 'using environmentally friendly natural materials to improve performance and style' has a very good collection of snow and skate that goes 'with the grain.' In fact, every deck they make is a perfect example and so it is difficult to choose only one or two to picture here. Go and check it out!




Similar to Arbor, RAYSKIN is passionate about creating an ecological friendly product. Rayskin produces customized surfboards; each board is a limited edition in its own right. The boards are a hands-on blend of old-school and new-school materials, tech, and art. Rayskin also expands their horizon to other realms of the sideways stance and makes custom skate decks and gave us a peak at a Samurai graphic (bellow) for a snowboard being laminated in Utah, courtesy of Charles and Ric at Rayskin.



When natural materials are used they also serve as a vintage hallmark, reminding us of our predecessors and origins, both of our decks of choice and those who rode before us.

*Note: many of the pictures can be seen larger if clicked on