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A Spring in my Step
A spring in my step is the best way to describe how I’m feeling today but before I say why I need to give a little background to the story. One day totally out of the blue someone I hardly knew turned up. He is a mechanic by trade but was helping clear a totally neglected field of overgrown gorse bushes. The back of his pick-up was full of gorse – the biggest I’ve ever seen. I have plenty of what I consider to be overgrown gorse in the hedge in my field. The largest stems are a bit over an inch, maybe 30mm. These ones were up to 4…
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Laburnum Tea Lights
Had a lovely morning in the workshop turning a couple of branches of Laburnum into Tea lights. Christmas is coming. I know, autumn is only just here but in business one needs to think ahead! This Laburnum came from trimming around the electricity wires. Keeping them clear is essential work. They are only branches so the trees will still be growing. I’ve had them for years so they are very dry which is important for the tea-lights because a large bulk of wood is still left. If it was turned green/fresh it could crack or shrink badly. The sapwood has a little spalting in it. Spalting is where fungus has…
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Paul Clarke, Sculptor, Woodcraft
Paul Clarke is equally skilled working with stone or wood and luckily for me he is also a friend of mine. It is through our common interest in wood that I know him. He has bought wood off me before or I have known of someone who could supply the right wood for a project. Paul has made pieces at my places before as I have ample space outdoors. Of course I jumped at the chance to see him in action. He is working on a big project at the moment – a huge chair to go outdoors at Cardigan Castle for when it opens to the public next year. The castle…
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Gŵyl Ceiau Teifi / Cardigan Quays Festival.
Gŵyl Ceiau Teifi / Cardigan Quays Festival has been held for several years on the banks of the river Teifi in Cardigan on August bank holiday Saturday. This year the organisers wanted to make a special effort to provide a space for local makers. One of the organisers, Nick Newland of www.swallowboats.com said “We would like to celebrate this talent by providing a place where makers can meet and demonstrate to our community and to visitors what a great place Cardigan is for creative careers, and incidentally, where makers can exchange ideas and discuss mutual problems.” I was very pleased to have a stand at Gŵyl Ceiau Teifi / Cardigan Quays…
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Yew Trees
Yew trees are beautiful and I love working with Yew wood. Yew wood is one of the most interesting and beautiful woods, highly sought after by wood turners and furniture makers. It has a creamy coloured sapwood with much darker orange brown heartwood creating a striking contrast. The patterns created by the Yew tree as it grows tend to be very varied and ‘wild’. Yew trees also do not tend to grow smooth and round but undulating in and out. This means that if I can make things from yew that retain the natural edge this adds an interesting feature to the piece. However, yew also tends to surface crack…
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Laburnum in Ceredigion
Laburnum hedges turn great swathes of this area yellow in May. Some roads become golden tunnels. Field after field are surrounded by branches dripping with Golden Chains. I don’t know that it is true but the story that I was told when I was young growing up in this area is that the Laburnum came here in the 1860s from Spain. It was used as ballast and was then used as cheap fencing posts. It took root. There are many hedges where the Laburnum trees are about 9′ (3m) apart which is just the right distance for fencing. Ceredigion was one of the last areas to be enclosed (the process…