Rambling

 

I am listening to 'Wildwood' by Roger Deakin at the moment, I had read the book before in 2009, for I have written about it here.  The facts that captured my imagination then came back as he talked about the English Walnut.  Apparently there was a craze for walnut furniture late  in the 17th century, replacing the good old fashioned use of oak.  But in 1709 after a very cold winter, minus 20 degrees, all but a few of the walnut trees died and mahogany from America  was used.  Walnut is beautifully figured in its grain.  But what sparked my interest was that the low slung sport Jaguar cars had walnut veneers in the interior.  I always fancied one of those cars along with many others no doubt, their sleek lines were to die for.

The other wood used is a burr, which either can be from oak, walnut or ash.  It is those funny protuberances you see on the side of old trees, but it is treasured for its swirling natural design. And talking of design, something I picked up earlier from F/B for its Celtic (to me) swirling design.  There is something rather clumsy in the way the bird handle sits on the scrolled plate but the workmanship is beautiful.

Art Nouveau door handle, ca.1905, on the entrance to the City Hall Council Room in Bremen, Germany. Designer artist Franz von Stuck (1863-1928), Note: from F/B.

Deakin also made me remember David Nash, a wood carving artist. He carved a ball of wood and then set it free in a Welsh stream not far from where he lived. Then having let it loose on the world to travel - he followed its journey down to the sea, where it is lost for evermore. The ball took years to move, often getting stuck in inlets, but every now and then a storm would happen and it would be washed out into the main channel of the river. It arrived eventually at an estuary, and it was there that Nash lost it for quite a time. He searched and searched and then it would miraculously appear. We are strange creatures, humans.

Another blog on the same subject, headed by dots for goodness sake.

But there is a small anecdote to record which I have just remembered from one of the photos.

This is taken from part of a screen which came into the studio, which two men delivered one day after phoning up about it being repaired and valued. They had pure East End accents and Paul convinced himself they were modelled on the Kray twins. So when it came time for them to collect it back Paul was nervous about having to tell them it was of little value but he did and they took it away peacefully. I took photos because I loved the little chicks. I once tried in my miniature making days to create a small Chinese screen but the hinging was a problem.