• About Wales,  Background to wood and its history,  wood craft,  wood turning

    Turned Miniature Eisteddfod Chair

    Having had the honour to be commissioned again to make a miniature chair for Cymdeithas Ceredigion‘s 2016 Eisteddfod I decided to put my all into making a turned miniature chair. Since turning is my main medium for working with wood it made sense to explore this method to make the chair. I’ve made chairs for Cymdeithas Ceredigion before, both a full size chair and two miniature chairs, however I used more traditional methods for these chairs. (The 2015 miniature chair, described here and here, was made out of Laburnum and the 2014 was made of Elm.) I had a prototype turned chair floating around the workshop which I’d made a…

  • About Wales,  Background to wood and its history,  wood craft

    A Priceless Gift

    I received a priceless gift a few years ago in a tale with many twists and turns. I was commissioned to make a chair to be given as a prize at a local Eisteddfod. Cymdeithas Ceredigion had been bequeathed money and the Cadair Goffa Pat Neill (Pat Neill memorial chair) was to be given for a poem in “cynghanedd” which is strict metre. (I’m afraid my knowledge of the complexities of poetry in any language is beyond me. The basics of Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter is the limit of my knowledge.) Working with wood, however, is another matter. And what an honour to be commissioned to make this chair. I immediately…

  • About Wales,  Background to wood and its history,  Uncategorized,  wood craft

    Eisteddfod Chair

    For several years now I have had the honour to be commissioned to make a chair for a local Eisteddfod. This is the first of the miniature chairs I made and the wood chosen was Elm. An eisteddfod is a cultural festival, a celebration of the arts and with competitions in all sorts of arts from poetry, literature, music, dance, performance… The original eisteddfod happened in 1176 in Cardigan only a few miles from me. It was held by Lord Rhys of Deheubarth at his castle. Major work has been happening there for a few years now, both archaeological and restorative, since Cardigan castle came into public ownership. (There is…

  • About Wales,  Background to wood and its history

    Cadair Cymdeithas Ceredigion

    Cymdeithas Ceredigion has honoured me over the last three years by asking me to make a chair to be awarded as a prize in their Eisteddfod. The first year was for a full sized chair. Last year and this year I was asked to make a miniature chair. This is the chair I made this year and a brief description which went with it along with the translation. Tresi Aur Ond ai dyna’r enw? Beth am Feillion Sbaen, Coed Sbaen, Bedwen Sbaen? Mae’r enwau ‘na i gyd wedi dod o ardal De Ceredigion. Chwedl glywais i oedd i’r pren ddod i mewn i Aberaeron yn y 1860au fel “balast” mewn…