After numerous conversations at open studios regarding the seemingly endless variety of materials i utilise, i got to thinking about where i began with my work and how it's travelled. One material that i truly love is timber. I started experimenting with timber half way through uni and it has continued to cropped up in various guises in my work over time. Having no true knowledge of timber and how to work it, my treatment of it has it has always been quite experimental, naive and unorthodox. Some might think i'm quite the butcher with my heavy handed and brutal linishing, carving and joining, but i can't help but be drawn to it, it's forgiving nature, it's warmth, and it's subtle insistence to stay true to itself. No matter how much i torture and colour it, it always remains timber.
With so much of my work exploring the animist belief that inanimate objects can be imbued with a spirit or soul, i found timber to be a perfect material for communicating this notion as i discovered that each piece i worked with harboured it's own characteristics and personality.
Here is a little retrospective of my timber journey from some of the first piece through to now...
2007. Archane Landscape. Neckpiece. Timber, copper, enamel.
2007. Sad Eyes. Ring. Timber, oxidised copper.
2007. Companion Brooch. Timber, rubber thimble, copper, plastic.
2007. Hidey Hole. Ring. Timber, copper.
2007. Secret Garden. Brooch. Timber, fine silver, enamel.
2008. Adventure Playground. Neckpiece. Timber, copper, paint, cord.
2008. Beastie. Neckpiece. Timber, oxidised copper, paint, cord.
2009. Gone to Seed. pendant. Timber, glass beads, oxidised sterling silver, silk cord.
2009. Forest for the Fences. Neckpiece. Timber, paint, cord.
2010. Climbing Trees and Scraping Knees. Neckpiece. Timber, oxidised silver, shark vertebrae,
rhodochrosite, job's tears seeds, glass beads, pink coral, acrylic, paint.
2010. Untitled. Timber, oxidised silver, glass beads, job's tears seeds, paint.
2010. Untitled. Neckpiece. Timber, paint, silk cord.
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