A very busy day teaching woodcarving in Bristol!

It's always interesting to see what different students want from tutored woodcarving sessions. Some people like to be shown a few particular techniques and then to get on with practising them with some guidance if needed, whereas others want to try as many different things as possible in the day.

Both are fun be a part of, of course. My last session of tuition was definitely the latter and it was the first taught session in my lovely new workshop. I really enjoyed using some tools again that I don't use that frequently and discussing how to use them too.

One great thing about teaching one-to-one is that learners can use some of the power tools that I'd sometimes be wary of bringing out with a group. When things go wrong with power tools they can go wrong very quickly, so I like to be able to keep a close eye on things. 

I wouldn't usually teach people to use certain tools such as chainsaws or Arbortechs in carving as they are potentially so dangerous to inexperienced users (or experienced ones!). Tools such as the scroll saw are a lot less aggressive and so I'm happy to use that occasionally. 

Katya wanted to make some wooden frames for embroidered pieces that she had produced.  First of all, I showed her how to use a panel saw (below) and a coping saw (first photo) properly. Cutting accurately by hand with a saw is a skill that anyone using wood should know. Electric saws are great, but occasionally only a hand saw can be used (when there's no electricity available, for example).

Katya was very happy with the piece that she produced using the scroll saw:

We also tried using a Dremel hand drill, an electric powered wood lathe and an electric drill.
It was the first time that Katya had used any of them but I think that by the end of the session, the scroll saw was still the favourite! She also kindly let me use her photos in this blog post.

Carving workshops and making a bench for LinkAge in Lawrence Weston, Bristol with younger and older participants

Running workshops for LinkAge is always a lot of fun. They organise projects to try and get young and old people working together, encouraging communication between two groups that might not otherwise come into contact in a positive situation.

I've led several workshops in the west of Bristol for LinkAge previously and it was great to be asked to run these two days at Blaise Weston Court retirement home in Lawrence Weston.

Everything was set up in the main atrium of the building, so residents could drop in and have a go if they wanted to. There were two possible activities; making a simple, shallow relief carving or working together to make a bench from larch timber, to go in the garden of the home.

I hadn't run a session in this kind of environment before and noticed that many people having a go had mobility issues, which would perhaps make going to a venue elsewhere difficult and unappealing. It was great to see them getting stuck into the activity in a more convenient setting and some people commented that they really enjoyed using tools again, after a working life in a trade such as electrician.

Three young people from the local Gateway school were also helping to build the bench and they worked very hard, alongside one of the residents of the home, making a great job of the finished bench.

Everyone seemed very happy with how things went and I hope that the bench will be in the garden for a long time to come!

Teaching woodcarving at Nailsea school, near Bristol: carving a Green Man into a log of Ash wood

On the weekend before Christmas, I went back to Nailsea school to do some more woodcarving tuition. After teaching a very enjoyable session there previously, working with pupils at the school, I was looking forward to it!

This session was a little different as all of the people attending were adults and the session was partially funded by a local community group; the Nailsea Community Trust. We also had to carve in the art room instead of the outdoor DEN space, as the rain was pouring down outside. 

However, the tables in that room were at just the right height to carve (carver's benches are generally higher than joiner's benches). The hot drinks and snacks were also on hand courtesy of Rebecca Hollingdale, who runs the DEN project at the school and who organised the session.

The Green Man is such an intriguing image, open to such varied interpretation, that I always enjoy watching people carve them. We were using logs of Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), sourced  by the DEN project from recent woodland management work. 

Ash is very pleasant to work with when freshly-cut and green, but can be tough work to carve by hand once seasoned. It is also not particularly durable outdoors, but that could be an attractive feature for some people I'm sure - the image of the Green Man returning to nature.

After a brief safety talk and a few (hopefully) handy pointers about facial anatomy, the group started carving. Some people were quite happy to get stuck in, but others were more reluctant to start cutting in deeply. Sculpting a face can be quite daunting and I can completely understand that some people would feel a little nervousness and even frustration when setting out to do such a project. I've found that for many learners who feel a bit overwhelmed, the best thing to do is just to start carving, removing the outer bark at first to see where the process takes you.

Once everyone was into the flow of things, one of the most rewarding things about the day was seeing everyone starting to create unique and expressive sculptures. All of the faces were very different and by the end everyone seemed very happy with the carvings that they had produced. 

Some people used the differently-coloured inner and outer bark layers against the pale ash wood to make some very interesting designs.

Some faces seemed to show someone who was relaxed, others were much more dynamic with expressive tool marks left on them:

It was great to see all of the faces put together at the end (apart from one, as the person who carved it had to go home a bit earlier). I'm sure you'll agree that they look very interesting together, showing a few different interpretations of the image of the Green Man.

Running a workshop making nestboxes and insect hotels, for LinkAge in Shirehampton

I've run a few workshops for LinkAge before and they are always great fun. The organisation brings together younger and older people to work together on projects, giving a chance for communication that is often difficult in society. They also run activities more specifically for older people to get involved with, giving a chance for meeting new people and doing new things.

Previously, we have built benches and produced carved wooden plaques. This time, the theme was building nest boxes and insect hotels. In case you are wondering, an insect hotel is an object or area specifically designed for insects to be able to hide in and hibernate. They are often made particularly to help bees (such as bumble and solitary bees), which have been dropping dramatically in numbers recently.

It was nice to catch up with a few familiar faces again and also to meet some new folks. Some of the new participants were very, very nervous about using tools such as saws and hammers for the first time and were also surprised by how much noise such tools made. However, by the end of the session everyone was cutting and joining the wood without any assistance and produced some great boxes and hotels to take home!

It was great seeing people who were afraid to even pick up a saw at the start of the session cutting parts for their projects neatly, safely and efficiently by the end of it. I hope that they will now feel more confident to tackle similar practical tasks themselves in the future.

Teaching woodcarving for the NHS at 'Fresh Arts' festival 2015 in Southmead hospital

Recently, I've been working on a major new commission for 'Fresh Arts', the arts organisation for North Bristol National Health Service Trust. It is a relief carved oak panel to be installed in the main concourse at the new Southmead Hospital, which is now the main hospital serving Bristol and the surrounding area.

As part of the commission, I was asked to do some carving on the panel with passing patients, staff and visitors to the hospital at the 'Fresh Arts' festival, organised in association with Willis Newson. I have to say that I really enjoyed the two days there. Some patients even came down from the wards to have a go.

It's always really interesting to see what people think of carving when they haven't tried it before. I got a strong feeling that some of them got a lot from the experience and a few people spoke of how relaxing they found the process. 

I've often thought of the similarities between the repetitive motions of a carver using their tools confidently and someone who is using a mantra in meditation. Both involve a focus of attention on a repeated action towards a purpose that usually isn't immediately fulfilled. Carving can definitely (but not always!) be a relaxing activity in itself.

There were a group of Japanese artists and designers also participating in the festival, including Architecture students from Tsukuba university.

I'm fascinated by the Japanese approach to art and craft and the sense of aesthetics there. One day, it would be great to have the opportunity to show my own carvings in Japan, particularly the 'Mechanical Insects' series. For now, I really enjoyed seeing the group producing their work. 

There were several other artists, poets and creative people also working in the festival, including Sue Mayfield's writing workshops and Guy Begbie doing bookbinding next to me. It was great to chat with them and everyone else. There were also choirs of singers entertaining everyone.

The panel is now back in my workshop, where I'll be working on it for the next couple of months.

I plan to make it interesting for blind and partially-sighted people as much as for sighted people like myself. To research this, I've been in touch with a blind artist and carver called Alan Michael Rayner, who is based in Wakefield, as well as the RNIB and arts organisations such as Arthouse and LivingPaintings, who work with blind people. They have all been very helpful and generous with their time and knowledge. I'll let you know how it develops!

Buy local, buy social, learn to carve wood...

My friend Joe from Touchwood Enterprises surprised me yesterday by letting me know that I was now a figurehead for the 'buy local, buy social' website...

Well, not really. The first page of the site shows a photo that was taken when I taught woodcarving for Touchwood at a community project in Bradley Stoke, Bristol.

I'm very happy to be on this website, as it is trying to help promote giving work to small businesses and start-ups in the area around here and is supported by the local council for Bath and North East Somerset. Of course, if people in other areas want to offer me work too that is also fine!

Teaching woodcarving at my studio in Bristol - spoon carving lessons in the sunshine

Yesterday, I spent a very pleasant day teaching two students spoon carving at my studio.

 

First, we discussed different kinds of tools that were available and the pros and cons of each. There were a selection of several different styles of axes, knives, hook knives and spoonbit gouges for them to try out and see which they preferred.

Both chose cherry wood to make their spoons, which I have to say is one of my favourite carving timbers. It's great for spoons as it carves well, is non-toxic and has nice colours and grain patterns throughout. Another good timber is sycamore (Acer pseudo-platanus), a tree that I have heard was introduced into Britain in ancient times for the purpose of making eating utensils .

First, we cleaved the logs using different kinds of axe and also discussed using a froe and mallet.

Then we chatted about different knife carving techniques that would be useful. I recommended a couple of books for further reading (Swedish Carving Techniques by Wille Sundqvist and Green Woodwork by Mike Abbott) and let them have a flick through each if they wanted to. There was also a spoon carved by Barn the Spoon to hand, for inspiration and to discuss the finer points of spoon design if it was required.

We then spent a few hours happily carving, with me on hand for advice if needed. We discussed regrinding the blades of the widely-available Frost hook knives so that they work better, although both of them preferred using the spoonbit gouges to hollow out the spoon bowl. To be honest, I prefer to use the gouges for this job and so, apparently, does Mike Abbott. There was also time for a chat after lunch about sharpening tools and honing them using a strop.

The spoons were coming on nicely by the end of the day and were taken home to be worked on until the next session. I'm looking forward to the next workshop in May, when we will discuss transferring images onto panels and carving them using traditional hand tools.

Woodcarving lessons for visitors to the Tree Life Centre in Bristol

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day, as I headed back to the Tree Life Centre in Kingswood to teach visitors to their Open Day how to carve wood.

We were carving a sign from oak that once grew on the Quantock Hills in Somerset. Most of those having a go were aged between about 5 and 12 years old, although I'd say that one young carver was less than 3. As her mum watched, I carefully let her hold the carving mallet and V tool, then held her small hands inside mine to make sure that she was completely safe as she carved. Despite some initial shyness, she quite obviously loved it!

A couple of the grown-ups also took a mallet and V tool for a spin and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Altogether, I'd say around sixty people tried their hand at carving during the day.  I asked a couple of the young people whether it was harder to carve than it looks. After some thought, they said that it wasn't always too hard, although as they did more of it they found some parts harder to do than others. Sounds fair enough to me.

The finished sign was finished with tung oil and will be situated next to the Tree Trail at the centre, which means that many of the visitors who live locally will be able to see it whenever they like. The trail has native trees growing along a path and the centre also sells native British trees and plants.

Whilst walking around the site, I also saw one of my favourite British wildflowers (although I'm pretty sure these ones had been planted there). It's called the snake's head fritillary.

These drooping tulip-like flowers, with their chequerboard patterning, always seem strange and exotic even though they are native to this country. They grow in damp meadows in the wild but are quite local in their distribution, so aren't commonly seen in most of Britain which made it even nicer to see them yesterday.

Making plinths for stone sculptures, running carving workshops and emergency while-you-wait lettercutting!

There have been a lot of different, smaller jobs going on recently, as well as finishing off the huge Downs bench (which is very exciting).

First off, I have made three sculpture bases for a commission:

The bases were shaped from Honduran mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla). Once very popular in woodworking, this species is consequently endangered now in many areas and Brazil has banned export of its timber. Illegal logging is a threat to the existence of some Swietenia species such as this one and is a massive and very real problem.

I have to say that I wouldn't buy or use this timber unless it was absolutely, definitely recycled. The timber used in these bases had been left lying around unwanted for years by at least three previous owners and was in danger of being thrown away. I was very content to utilise it in those circumstances, but it seems important to mention the issue here. Woodworkers in the USA and UK are the main market for mahogany and so it is directly our responsibility to source materials like these carefully.

Yesterday was very happily spent teaching volunteers at the Tree Life Centre in Kingswood, Bristol.

The centre is run by the Trust for Conservation Volunteers and sells native trees and plants. We have been carving 'way in' and 'out' marker posts as well as oak signs for their Open Day on the 10th April that show different areas of the site. The volunteers came up with some great designs for them and I think that the signs look fantastic.

 I'm really looking forward to another day's carving there with visitors to the Open Day.

One other interesting job recently was a new kind in my experience: while-you-wait lettercutting! The people who contacted me had a very small, specific period of time in which they could drop by my studio and have a wooden object engraved. Luckily, I could stop by after running some workshops and managed to do their lettercutting for them while they waited at the studio. It was nice to be able to help them in such a tight time schedule on a piece that was obviously very important to them.

Image by C.S.

Teaching woodcarving to young people at the Tree Life Centre in Kingswood, Bristol

The Tree Life Centre is run by the TCV (Trust for Conservation Volunteers) and is situated at the back of Grimsbury Farm in the Kingswood area of Bristol. The centre is looking to get local groups more involved, so that they can benefit from the resources it has to offer. As part of this, I was invited to run some woodcarving workshops there yesterday for children from various local schools.

It was a lovely day, just right for early spring; clear and sunny with daffodils nodding all around us.

The young people, some of whom had learning difficulties, really seemed to enjoy the chance to try a new activity. There were some promising young carvers amongst them too!