May 15, 2009
I have spent a few days turning some small pieces of old olive wood and what a treat – it turns so well and these pieces are wonderfully marked. As well as the wood being very pretty, the pieces are cracked and wormy, which for me makes them even more interesting. Here are a couple and there will be many more to come over the next few days.
Beautifully marked olive - turned into small bowls, complete with their imperfections (≈ 9 cms wide x 8 cms high)
The same olive bowls - from above
My friends Eunice and Mark at Yavanna have just told me that they have some olive for me too, so I hope to be able to go and collect that in the coming days. Then Victorinho told me in the bar at lunch time on Sunday that he has some cork oak that has been wind blown – I went to see it and I am just waiting for the grass to dry – it is on a very steep slope and slippery grass and chain saws do not mix! Victorinho tells me there is an interesting law in Portugal that prohibits the felling of cork oak trees – windblown branches are fine. If you watch the link above you will see why.
Photograph showing the older cork bark harvested from the trunk of the tree
I read about a new film coming soon which I want everyone to know about – yes, another warning of how we are mistreating the planet, but one that suggests how we can remedy the situation too – it is called The End of the Line and from the trailer it looks very well worth watching.
April 27, 2009
A small (9 cm x w 9 cm) bowl turned from a piece of Jacaranda from South Africa with beautiful "imperfections"
The other day there was a visitor to the gallery who was shocked to pick up one of my bowls and find that there was a hole in the side of the bowl. I tried to explain that my personal interest was turning strange pieces of wood – wood that is particularly full of character.
“But things would fall out of it!” Was the response – and of course, who could argue with that.
Personally I feel that turning a piece of wood should try to expose its unique “watermark” that was locked inside the wood prior to mounting it on the lathe. Sometimes this means that the bowl does indeed have a hole in it and in that case, things may fall out of it – but so what? I wonder what proportion of turned bowls are ever used on a regular basis. Certainly I make bowls to be used – but some are not very functional. many turners make beautiful hollow forms, bowls, sculptured turnings and they serve no other function than to give pleasure in a visual and tactile way.
One of the things that has always fascinated me has been the incredible abstract beauty that nature provides for us – especially when looked at out of context or in close-up – it was this that led me to photographing mosses and lichens and to the first book I ever (co) authored - all 400 photographs in the Mosses Lichens and Ferns of Northwest North America were lovingly taken – with nose to the subject!
