Tactile wooden bowls turned from island trees...
To browse and buy bowls made from Scilly trees and finished with fragrant island beeswax, please visit the Shop or contact me to discuss commissions.
(Read on to find out more...)
To browse and buy bowls made from Scilly trees and finished with fragrant island beeswax, please visit the Shop or contact me to discuss commissions.
(Read on to find out more...)
Bowls, bowls, bowls...
THE STORY...
During the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 I retreated to my workshop and woodturning lathe in an attempt to keep sane. There is clearly something calming and meditative about the process of releasing the organic shape of a bowl from an unpromising lump of old tree, as if it had always been there; and a sensuousness in watching the creamy shavings peel of the wood to reveal the humble yet beautiful kitchen object within. It wasn't long before I was emotionally addicted to my new form of therapy.
"At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement."
T.S. ELIOT (Four Quartets)
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement."
T.S. ELIOT (Four Quartets)
T.S. Eliot would surely have noticed that feeling of almost spiritual stillness had he ever picked up a bowl gouge and it certainly saw me through some dark times on the island. That and the sense of practical creative achievement felt every day when walking back from my workshop with a finished functional item in my hands. (Most days, I should say - the days when the turning went badly were strikingly un-meditative, and my mood would be low for the rest of the evening if I came away from my lathe empty-handed.)
A film by Tom Dyson, capturing perfectly the meditative, paradoxical stillness of woodturning:
I gained particular pleasure in restricting myself to wood from trees which lived their life, like me, on Scilly. As an island cook, the drive to produce local food is absolutely central and I felt the same compulsion in my approach to woodturning. As with island food, such an approach invariably involves sacrifice: most of the best woods for turning are just not available locally, given the lack of variety in tree species that can survive the salt and wind, just as many delicious ingredients are not and cannot be produced on the island. Yet this limitation breeds resourcefulness and an inquisitive creativity. It turns out that pittosporum - used as a hedging plant to protect Scillonian flower fields - is a beautiful wood if a big enough specimen can be found. Coprosma is good too... Elm - by far the most common broadleaf tree in Scilly - grows to a good size, is relatively scarce elsewhere in the country and makes a warmly-toned and durable bowl. And, of course, there is always the chance of something rare and exciting washing in as driftwood...
The raw ingredients...
The bowls and platters themselves are often intended to be used in the kitchen, and not just for ornamentation. Eating from wooden vessels is a much more gentle and natural experience than eating with metal off china. There is none of that unpleasant scraping when trying to round up the last morsel, and the wood takes on a patina with age that reflects the job it has done over its (and your) life. I often eat my breakfast from a bowl made from elm felled in my garden with a spoon carved from prunings of the apple tree I can see from my bedroom window. Simple yet powerful pleasures...
I don't aim for glossy lacquered finishes as I hope to let the tree do most of the talking and I like to retain a texture of wood, so my bowls are usually finished with a mixture St Agnes beeswax and some sort of food-safe oil - flaxseed, hemp or mineral.
I don't aim for glossy lacquered finishes as I hope to let the tree do most of the talking and I like to retain a texture of wood, so my bowls are usually finished with a mixture St Agnes beeswax and some sort of food-safe oil - flaxseed, hemp or mineral.
To browse and buy bowls made from Scilly trees and finished with fragrant island beeswax, please visit the Shop.
AN ISLAND LIFE
Website photography by Rachel Lewin (An Island Wife)
Website photography by Rachel Lewin (An Island Wife)