It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday and I spent it sitting on the pavement on the Gloucester Road in Bristol, carving a green man out of oak and chatting to passers-by.
A lot of younger spectators in particular were very keen to see how the carvings were done and there was a very jolly atmosphere, with the local shops putting out tables on the side of the road. In the afternoon, a morris group (see the comments below) came past with a huge 'Jack-in-the-Green', a foliage-covered effigy used since ancient times to celebrate the return of summer.
The green man plaque also turned out well and a finishing coat of furniture wax brought out the beauty of the oak grain pattern nicely. It will now go on show at Room 212 gallery on the Gloucester Road.
After writing this, I reworked the Green Man carving a bit and you can see how it currently looks by visiting this post, which has some images of other Green Man carvings as well.
