A Carved Inscription on Sue Darlison's 'Bridget's Smile' bench

Today, I went over to 'The Limes', a day centre for people with Alzheimer's in Bristol, to carve an inscription on a bench designed and made by Sue Darlison.

Sue is a very talented local designer maker as well as the curator of the 'Inspired' exhibitions, which have previously included some well-known exhibitors such as John Makepeace and David Colwell of Trannon furniture.

The bench is called 'Bridget's Smile,' as it was inspired by the smile of a lady who used to attend the centre. The seat and backrest are Cedar of Lebanon and the legs and backrest supports are Oak, all of which came from the local area.

I used a Dremel hand drill with a rotary burr to cut the letters, as it seemed to give a better effect with this font and also worked on the cedarwood more efficiently than hand tools, even very sharp ones.

The cedar gave a lovely smooth and polished finish when the lettering was finished, which can be hard to achieve when working on many other types of softwoods. Sue and I are sure that Bridget would approve.

'Bridget's Smile'- a sculptural bench by Sue Darlison

Sue Darlison is a bespoke furniture maker, tutor and exhibition organiser based in Bristol. Today, I helped to take over a bench that she has recently made. It is now installed at 'The Limes', a local centre for people with dementia, and was commissioned by someone in memory of his wife Bridget who attended the centre.

The bench is made from Cedar of Lebanon and Oak. The shape was inspired by Bridget's smile, which seems a particularly lovely way to be remembered. In the New Year I have been asked to carve the words 'Bridget's Smile' onto it and then it will stay in the garden of the centre, for visitors and clients to enjoy.

'Inspired' at Ashton Court-a few more images of work on show

Here are some more photos of the work on show at 'Inspired':

This photo shows one of the three rooms, with work by;

Chuck Elliott, Tim Chadsey, Waywood furniture, John Makepeace, Jonathon Markowitz, Barry Cawston, Graham Ilkin, Anthony Gray and Ben Rawlinson

The 'Audrey' cabinet, by Cadman furniture

This stainless steel hare was made by Miranda Micheals,  with the image behind by Tina Lewis

A bleached oak chest of drawers, made by Dunleavy Bespoke

The table and boxes are by Erich Fichter, with the dandelion study by Tina Lewis

This ceramic piece is by Dartmouth-based Bob Dawson

The 'Slow Wave' bench by Sue Darlison, the curator of the exhibition

These woven willow pieces are by Sarah Woodrow

'The Bridge' oak table by Martin Urmston, with Anthony Gray's 'Solitaire' table lamp

Kevin Stamper's 'Orford' table and lamp

'Night Horizon' bureau, by Knut Klimmek

A detail of William Self's 'Ellipse Squared' table

Petya Kapralova made this wall sculpture, which shows a detail of the Icelandic coast

Graham Ilkin's 'Triunite' console table

These sea images by Jane Reeves are actually made from fused glass

The marquetry pieces on the wall are by Christine Meyer-Eaglestone,

with the table made from oak and glass by Caroline  de Winton

The jewellery cabinet was made by Rhys Gillard, with the picture by Karyn Rossenrode

These glass pieces were made by Becky Wills, of Yellow Dog Glass

The preview for 'Inspired' at Ashton Court

The 'Inspired' exhibition at Ashton Court is looking fantastic. The invitation-only preview was held today and gave a chance to meet the other makers who are showing.

Today began at 6.45 am with a chat to local radio about the wooden model of the Matthew figurehead that I'll be carving at the exhibition during the coming week from 10am 'til 4pm. Unfortunately I can't really remember what was said as my brain wasn't really switched on at that hour!

The work in 'Inspired' really is inspiring. As with all of Sue's shows, the quality is superb and it's great to be exhibiting next to such interesting pieces.

My contribution is a mammal that would feed on the insects depicted in my 'metainsecta' series. The whole piece is made from found and recycled timber.

I only managed to take a few shots of some of the other work there, before my camera battery ran out. Here's those few to give a little taste of what can be seen. I hope to post some more when I revisit with full battery power;

The table and chair in the foreground are by John Makepeace, the chair and lamp on the far left by Nick Crossling, the glass vase in the window by Becky Wills of Yellow Dog Glass and the bench by Dan Burrough.

This sculpture is by Glenn Morris and is inspired by his travels in the Arctic.

Avril Farley makes these beautiful ceramics with their interesting crystallised glazes.

These sculptures are by Margaret Lovell

This little yew wood stool is by John Makepeace, who is exhibiting four pieces 

I like this chest from Waywood a lot, it's hard to resist touching the surface of it!

Graham Ilkin's 'Betty' chest is full of interesting wood colours and patterns

Jonathon Markowitz's 'Humby' desk and chair have a very cool, clean-lined modern look to them.

The exhibition is on until the 4th August at Ashton Court Mansion, Bristol. You can visit between 10am and 4pm and admission is free.

'Inspired' at Ashton Court, Bristol 28th July to 4th August 2013. Also showing; John Makepeace and Margaret Lovell, amongst many others

Yesterday the finishing touches were applied to my sculpture "Metainsectivore', which I'll be showing at the 'Inspired' exhibition at Ashton Court in Bristol.

It's an exciting opportunity to exhibit work with some of the biggest names in British furniture making. In fact, I've taken two days off in about 6 weeks to try and make something good enough!

The sculpture represents a creature that would feed on the hybrid insects illustrated in the 'Metainsecta' series that I've been working on for a few years. If you would like to see more about this series, click on these links which will take you to my website:
http://www.carvings-with-stories.co.uk/insects.html
http://www.carvings-with-stories.co.uk/new%20insects.html

Here's a bit of the finished 'Metainsectivore' piece. Not all of it - it seems a shame to give the game away too much before it is put on display! It is carved entirely from found and recycled wood (including the eyes), using a variety of techniques both old and modern.

Speaking of traditional carving techniques, I will be carving a wooden model ('maquette') for the new Matthew figurehead onsite during the course of the exhibition, using a piece of Lawson Cypress that was felled during recent landscaping work at the Ashton Court mansion. Come and say hello if you are in Bristol!

As for the other work on show, there are thirty-eight exhibitors exhibiting everything from glass work to fine furniture. If you are interested in crafts, applied arts, design or even just beautifully made things, it has to be on the to-do list.

The exhibition is open from 10am to 4pm every day, from the 28th July to the 4th August. Entry is free.

You can see more here:

http://inspired-to.co.uk/

The one hundredth post! What's going on this month then? 'Inspired' at Ashton Court!

Yes, one hundred posts published! Time for a cake to celebrate! And then some carving, I think I'll need the energy...

There's a very busy month ahead. I've been invited to show in the 'Inspired' exhibition at Ashton Court in Bristol from the 28th July to the 4th August 2013. It's quite an honour as there are some well known people exhibiting in the same show...

The organiser, Sue Darlison, is a very talented furniture designer and maker who regularly shows at the prestigious Cheltenham Celebration of Craftsmanship. Her work is beautifully executed and always worth seeing.

John Makepeace is probably one of the most influential post-war British furniture designers . He founded Parnham, where many of the top contemporary makers trained. It will be very interesting to see what he shows at 'Inspired'.

Margaret Lovell is a sculptor who trained with Barbara Hepworth. Her sculpted forms have a similar beautiful, elegant simplicity of form.

I'll be showing a piece in the 'Metainsecta' series in the gallery (you can see more about this series at my website by following these links. you can return to this blog via a link on the website homepage or the 'Latest News' page:
http://www.carvings-with-stories.co.uk/insects.html
http://www.carvings-with-stories.co.uk/new%20insects.html
http://www.carvings-with-stories.co.uk/Predator%20Bird.html )

In addition, I'll be carving a maquette for the 'Matthew' figurehead and chatting with visitors. Should be a lot of fun, although there's a lot of work to be done in preparation. Entry to the exhibition is free, why not come and check out the work on show if you can make it to Bristol?

Oh, I'm also going to be doing the first half of my training to become a Forest School Leader this month. Busy times!

For more information about 'Inspired', you can go to:
http://inspired-to.co.uk/

'Inspired'- a fine craftmanship show at Ashton Court mansion in Bristol

I went to have a look at the 'Inspired' exhibition at Ashton Court yesterday, which is organised by Sue Darlison. The work on show was pretty mindblowing, some technically superb and very beautiful furniture making. My little point-and-shoot camera really can't do the work justice unfortunately! Like any sculpture, you really need to see it first-hand to appreciate it.

'Allium' by Simon Nugent

 Alun Heslop

The table and box at front are by Scott Woyka, the stacked boxes by John Jacques. I can't remember who made the mirror and guitars, but they were also stunning!

 

 These images show some of the beautiful detailing that could be seen, the toolmarks on Martin Grierson's piece (above) reminded me of the carefully laid out adze marks I once saw on a native Canadian totem pole (shown on the right).

Rhys Gillard's elegant bench design is in the foreground. All the work on show was about as good as contemporary furniture making gets. Well done Sue!

'From the woods' at Westonbirt Arboretum

I went over to Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire today, to have a look at this exhibition that has one of my sculptures in it. Westonbirt is the national arboretum and has one of the finest tree collections in the country.
The exhibition itself was really well curated by Sue Darlison and the other work on show was top quality. It's quite an honour to get to show with well-known names on the woodworking circuit, such as David Colwell of Trannon furniture design. Here's a picture of my piece in the hall.

It was a great time to go, as a lot of the blossom was out, as were many wild flowers. Particularly beautiful were the wood anemones and wild primroses in the oak woods of Silk Wood, together with the first of the bluebells. Also in flower were camellias, rhododendrons and magnolias-making a great display.

Native wild flowers speckle the floor of Silk Wood

...with cherry trees in blossom in one area of the wood

Elsewhere, rhododendrons were in flower

...as well as azaleas, camellias and magnolias.

The contrasts of colours and textures at Westonbirt are sometimes stunning