Skins

A while back some examples of boards utilizing wood in the graphic were shown and talked about. This got me thinking of other materials that have been used on the top surface as part of the art. There have been a few wakeboards that have used a synthetic leather or other skin-like or cloth-like material. One of the first examples was the 2006 Hyperlite Era, featuring a simple brown synthetic hide covering every square inch of the board's top surface. A year later, following the Era, the Hyperlite Syn (the women's version of the Era) used a synthetic black snake skin along with an emblem made of jewel accented cloth.

(colors are not true, as this board has seen much sunlight)

The 2007 Byerly Legacy used a smooth black synthetic leather top sheet, garnished with pin striping and a metal badge.

Finally, in 2008, CWB changed up the Faction board using a metal stamp on fabric. "The CWB Faction Wakeboard doesn’t only perform, it’s dressed to impress."

These type of top sheets were not only pleasing to the eye, but were pleasing to the feet, providing a softer no-slip grip for someone who wanted to give wakeskating a try when a wakeskate was not available.

Design Your Ride Submissions

Thanks for keep your eyes peeled. Not only is there one, but six submitted designs. These designs were submitted to the Design Your Ride contest on wakesites.com. The contest deadline is nearly up so if you have a design to submit yourself hurry and do so. Till then, hope you enjoy these and the bit of commentary for each.



"Dew Spirals," "Dew Stripes," & "Dew Splatters":

A series of three designs using water drops, or bubbles, or "dew-drops" in this case to create a unique design that magnifies and warps the underlying art.



"A-MAZE-ING":

There has always been a reserved amount of admiration for mazes. lots of creativity goes into mazes, both to please the artistic mind as well as the part of the mind that likes to solve puzzles. both sides of the board have a maze. Both mazes are solvable (the one on the back providing any challenge, click the picture to increase its size to solve it yourself.) and both lead to an 'aMAZEing' destination (pun intended).

"Flexible Truth":

Quite simply, this design is a dedication to flex technology in wakeboards. A collage of over 25 quotes and other references to the words, "flexible," "reflex," and "slingshot" cover the top and bottom of the board (click the picture to see closer). Scans of common, everyday materials, such as note paper, torn cardboard, pushpins, tape, and much more were used to create a different, messy but identifiable rhythm of creativity.

"Slingshot Dragon":

The name of this design is the translation of the Chinese characters used. The two characters on the top (read top to bottom) are pronounced "Dang Gong," meaning "Slingshot." Appropriately so, a Chinese style dragon is wrapped around the character for "Dragon," pronounced "Long." The bottom graphic was originally hand drawn and then scanned into the computer and modified a bit. The entire design is reminiscent of the artists respect for Chinese; language, people, and heritage.

Decks Capturing Fantastic Vistas

Maybe it's not all coincidence that we use the same word, "deck" to identify the expanse of boards around a home and the boards used for each respective boardsport. There is a potentially unrecognized commonality between the deck of a house and the deck we choose to ride. They share a common purpose, to capture that moment in time with our respective surroundings and take advantage of the magic it has to offer.

No matter where, no matter the level of riding, your deck is a tool to capture your surroundings; to capture majestic mountain peaks, turbulent ocean waves, structured urban paradises, mirrored crystal lakes, and other glorious vistas and impressive scenes. Your deck helps you to expand your senses; capture and enjoy the whisper of white powder, the spray of water, the whir of wheels on pavement, the harmonic hums when pressing and sliding.

Naturally, a deck seems to be a perfect medium to literally capture and feature artwork representing the various fantastic vistas mother earth has to offer. A particular favorite of mine is the '99 Hyperlite Evolve 144cm wakeboard.
(picture from WakeWorld.com)
This board features an impressive view of "Horseshoe Bend." Horseshoe Bend is a unique formation in the Glen Canyon. It is located only a couple of miles south of Page, Arizona and Lake Powell where I grew up and learned to wakeboard and respect other boardsports. If your down in the southwest of the USA, check this spot out; it is free and easily accessible.
(picture taken from Wikipedia.org, Christian Mehlführer, User:Chmehl)

Together we salute our surroundings, the earth, and all the variety it has to offer with a sideways stance!

Company Profile: Knock On Wood Skateboard Co.

Skateboards Made From Trees

I just wanted say hi and introduce myself and skateboard company...Knock On Wood. I'm really excited to be part of Deckxhibit and look forward to contributing whenever and whatever I can.

Knock On Wood is an emerging skateboard company based out of Tennessee. If you are unfamiliar with the place maybe you have heard of Jack Daniels...same region...different cup of tea. The company is skater owned and operated and all products are manufactured in the U.S.A. We currently represent up-and-coming skateboarders and artists in the Eastern states. We are more than a business (hardly a business, we are an empire, the yin to your yang, a house hold name, your mother’s best dish); we are a family of friends who share the same love for skateboarding.

Here are what the goods look like:


Windmills : Vines : & Giving Tree
These are a few early designs since our establishment in 2006-2009


Stump (Blue, Red, Green), 2008-09
A collaboration graphic based on a sketch by rider Matt Sharer.

We are currently working on a board graphic with artist Amos Oaks. Among many accomplishments in his art career, he was the winner of the Design Layton's Deck for Toy Machine. I am very excited about the completion of his design and will report back when the final concept is soon in production.

If anyone is interested in owning a piece of Knock On Wood, we sell ourselves on this street corner.

Cheers!
Patrick

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

Contest: Design Your Ride

Wakesites, Slingshot Wake and ProductPulse have teamed to bring you a contest where you get to design a limited edition Slingshot wakeboard. Even better, submitted designs will be featured on MySpace and Facebook, so your creative work will be seen by millions. So, check out the current leaders. And while you're at it, create and submit your own design to win. You just might end up riding on it.

We'll be entering one of our own designs so keep your eyes peeled and get your vote on.