Carpenter Bryan Dyer loves to build and create
Though Wayne White’s show at the Hunter Museum is over, and Wayne-O-Rama is gone, the effects of his tenure are still lingering. Perhaps the most profound result of Wayne’s time in Chattanooga is the inspiration he has given to the local arts community—his creative processes, use of materials, and manner of describing subjects have undoubtedly left their mark. A shining example of this is the story of a lifelong carpenter who has chosen to become a fine artist.
Bryan Dyer got the position of lead carpenter in the Wayne-O-Rama project because he is one of the very best in the business. Beginning after high school with light weight carpentry, he worked his way up the totem pole to become the construction equivalent of a surgeon.
His work can be found in various local residences, and businesses including Greyfriar’s Coffee House and The Hot Chocolatier. The custom wood pieces he creates are made to last, and his ethic is second to none.
“There are houses that get renovated, they get a 50-year remodel—and then there are other projects where everything is done in six weeks, and the choice of materials, workmanship, and procedures are sub-par,” he explains. “It is hard for folks to get equity in something when they are going to have to redo it all in five years. If something is defective and needs to be re-worked, you can make it stay where it is long enough to cover it up with another surface, and that’s the five-year remodel—versus the 50-year remodel, where you replace the entire framing member.”
Brian undertakes his build-outs and repairs with surgical precision. He uses the highest quality building supplies, and does material studies when a new product becomes available. A few of the low quality products that he warns his clients against are MDF trim that doesn’t last, laminated wood flooring that leeches toxic fumes, and vinyl products that also have negative long term health effects.
“I don’t like vinyl siding because of the environmental impact,” he says.
In terms of siding, he speaks very highly of fiber cement, but he warns us about the product.
“You have to be really careful installing fiber cement, because it has silica in it. If you breathe the dust when you are cutting it, it doesn’t get exhaled. Silica dust is micro sand that will stay in your lungs forever—it’s not something that your system can abate. It is unwise for a homeowner to buy fiber cement and start installing it without knowing about that risk.”
Bryan’s skill set as a carpenter made him a perfect collaborator for the Wayne-O-Rama project, which is where he discovered his love of art. Helping to build the monumental Lookout Mountain sculpture was the most difficult and fun carpentry project he has done so far.
“I have not had any art training or practice, but I was trying to get things to be the way they needed to be done,” Dyer explains. “I had to learn to speak a different language. Creating the structure, and making the plywood do what it needed to do for Wayne’s vision, was easily the biggest challenge of my career. Taking it down was quite a challenge too.”
Rock City currently has possession of the mountain, and they intend to display it. This is good news for White’s fans, since his retrospective at the Hunter Museum ended this past Saturday. Bryan helped to hang all of the giant puppets, including the Louvin Brothers, and he will take them down on Friday.
He also assisted White with his exhibition for the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, which is up until February 11. “The ‘Monitorium’ show is about two Civil War Battleships, the Monitor and the Merrimac,” he explains. “The show is an interactive exhibit with moving puppets. Wayne had some specific ideas, and we started out with those, and the ideas grew.”
When he isn’t helping to build sculptural installations, Bryan stays busy with artisan carpentry—he recently completed a stunning circular window, perfectly framing a tree. He is a sub-contractor for New Blue construction, one of the finest construction firms in the area.
“I got tired of being the contractor, estimator, advertiser, etc, so I let them handle all of that. I’m having a lot of fun working with them, they get really cool projects.”
We can’t talk about it yet, but Bryan might have a really big project in the near future. In the meantime, he is building a new bar for the Palace Theater, which will be re-opening soon. He is also making artwork to exhibit—but that is a different story.