Greenwood Woman

CHERRY WOOD PLANNING APPLICATION - please help

2012-02-07T09:18:00.000Z

For those who don't know, Cherry Wood based near Bath has to get planning in order to continue... In the UK, alternative ways of living and working are all too readily dismissed and often misunderstood by planning authorities.

Cherry Wood is a sustainable woodland management project incorporating a woodland school teaching green woodwork, bush craft and a variety of coppice skills.

There is no provision for a set up like Cherry Wood in the UK planning system and they need all the support they can get.

Please have a quick look at their website for links to the planning application and a draft letter you can write in support to their council. They have approximately till 20th Feb 2012. Your support really matters, every letter (for and against) is recorded.

www.cherrywoodproject.co.uk

Potato Mashers and Porridge Spurtles - doing it the old fashioned way

2012-01-25T20:04:00.000Z

These wooden potato mashers and porridge spurtles were commissioned by an elderly Scottish chap looking to give presents to his family. I made 7 of each as requested.

The design of the potato masher was described to me, and luckily I managed to see a nice example (no touching allowed mind you), in the Welsh Museum of Rural Life just before I started to make them. The green wood I used was fresh maple, some lovely green tinged cherry, and a whiter cherry. I turned a variety of handle shapes and mashing ends as the wood allowed on the pole lathe. All are approximately 18" tall. The mashing ends are about 3" diameter.

They would probably also be useful for tenderizing your nearest and dearest in the kitchen. (Joke)

The design of the porridge spurtle was a copy of his own that he'd used for the last 40 years. He made porridge every day, or every other day, letting it rest - I can't remember which. His own spurtle had worn down 1" shorter than it should have been, and so his hand was getting too close to the cooking pot.

The practical feature of this design is that the ball rests comfortably above your hand, as if holding a pen. He also insisted that the ends should taper. I made a variety of designs as the wood dictated. Five were turned from pear wood and another three from cherry.

One of the pear spurtles had a peculiar kink at the top when it dried out, since the thin point above the ball sat on a knot. I had meant to keep this one for myself but somehow he ended up getting a bonus spurtle. Lucky old him!

Everything was burnished with greenwood shavings from the lathe and oiled with culinary linseed oil a few times. I was very pleased with the finished work.

Contemporary coppice workshops

2012-01-14T14:08:00.002Z

Charlie Whinney demonstrating steam bending

I'm very excited to have a place on these workshops, it should be a great start to the year!

An exciting new series of workshops and talks in February 2012 bringing together coppice workers, greenwoodworkers and designers to create some new ‘contemporary coppice products’.

This event in Cumbria isorganised by Grizedale Arts and is led by award-winning artist Charlie Whinneywho will offer his unique steam-bending skills to attendees of the practicalworkshop.

There arefour ways to be involved:

1. 1 day Conference - Saturday18^th February 10am-5pm at Blackwell Arts and Craft’s house inWindermere, Cumbria. With talks by Kathy Haslam, curator at Blackwell on thepolitics of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Ray Leigh on Gordon Russell and theUtility Scheme and key note speech by the renowned designer MichaelMarriott.

2. 4 day Practical workshop – Friday17^th to Tuesday 21^st February. There is a limited numberof spaces available – if you are want to make an interesting career out of using coppice or green wood thiswill be invaluable. You will spendtime alongside award-winning product designers including Michael Marriott andrenowned local coppice workers including Owen Jones and Matt Turley. You will also no doubt learn a lot aboutsteam-bending, different making techniques, and a chance to share skills andideas with other makers and designers.

3. Visit www.newgreenwoodwork.com or www.grizedale.org after theevent. The new designs will be madeavailable online, and we will also put up photos and videos of how we goton. Also if you have any photos ofinteresting uses of coppice or particularly beautiful green woodwork please sendme your photos ASAP as they will be really helpful and we can share themonline.

4. 2 day Practical workshop - Saturday 25^th andSunday 26^th February. A weekend workshop on Brantwood Estate inConiston, from the cutting of coppice wood to finished product.

Visit www.newgreenwoodwork.com for more information.

Hand woven natural dyed cushions

2011-11-27T19:44:00.000Z

This week I've had some time at home spinning and weaving up some of my natural dyed wool. I have a new country spinner spinning wheel with a massive 2lb bobbin, which is very impressive indeed, and has made me a very, very happy lady! Ha ha

My cushions are handspun, using natural plant dyed wool and hand woven on a small loom.

Here are some picture of some cushions I've made which I sell from my Etsy Shop

Woodland Arts - workshops for schools

2011-11-09T08:50:00.002Z

Last week I spent three days doing woodlands arts workshops in two schools in Wordsley, Stourbridge, West Midlands. The schools had approached me to put on some woodland inspired workshops for children aged 7 - 8 and 8 - 9 as part of their Irresistible Learning education program.

Four classes of 25 at Belle Vue Primary spent an hour each learning a different weaving technique with natural materials and willow, making an individual item to take home. Their term had started with a letter from Lord Locksley asking for a band of men to join him. My half-term activity was to help them make something nice to give to Maid Marion, made from natural materials. Each class made different items so the teachers could swap techniques later on.

At Blandford Mere Primary School we had two consecutive days to work on a project. I was asked if the children could make things to put in their new school corridor, so I suggested making bug sculptures - insects, flies, bees.

After an introductory talk and questions at assembly, three classes of 30 pupils spent an hour on both days with me creating woodland insect sculptures using fresh willow and other natural materials including natural dyed sheep wool, leaves, sticks etc..

They learned how to strip the leaves off the willow and bend it to the shapes they needed to make wings and body shapes, decorating these on the second day. It was a learning curve for both me and the children, as they got to grips with the nature of the materials - and I raced about helping their sculptures take shape.

Most of the children were very excited about the activity and I think it was quite a challenge for them on many levels. I hope they got a lot out of it. It was great to be able to use my artistic and practical woodland knowledge with so many young people.

If you are interested in having a school workshop. I am happy to devise a suitable activity for your class. Please contact me to discuss details and costs. I am currently working across the Midlands. I'm hoping for pictures of the school displays to arrive for this blog post soon.

Colours from Nature - natural dyes, wool and weaving

2011-10-28T13:39:00.001+01:00

I have been back at my spinning wheel again in readiness for the winter nights, a pleasure that seems to return every year when the weather changes. Over the last few years I have been learning to spin and to use natural dyes. The process of collecting colour from the wild, just like foraging is a lovely rewarding activity. It keeps you in contact with the seasons by collecting your own plant materials, leaves, flowers, berries or bark when the time is right.

Before this summer ended, I wanted to create some new natural colours to add to my wool stash for the winter. I've totally avoided the synthetic dyes as they just seem so harsh and tend to shout so much. Natural colours always blend well with each other and I like having the direct link back to their natural source too.

1. Madder root red, 2nd dye madder root makes coral.
2.Guelder rose berries - pink/yellow.
3. Cochineal beetle purple handspun.
4. Poplar leaves makes yellow and saddened with
iron makes green tinge.
5. Mohair dyed with buddleia leaf makes yellow.

Jacob dyed with cochineal beetle

Winter seems to be the natural time when the knitting and spinning really gets going for me. With all those long evenings what else would I be doing! (apart from whittling).. Anyway, a month or so ago I had mordanted some sheep wool with Alum at home. Alum and other mordants like Chrome, Iron and Oxalic Acid help to achieve stronger colour shades where the normal sheep fleece doesn't pick up the dye. I collected various plant materials that were available in the wood and had a few dying sessions with a pot over the fire.

Finally after a few years of trial and error I am happy to be getting much better and consistent results. It is a time consuming processing, so this is very satisfying progress indeed!


Wensleydale dyed with Onion Skins

People ask me 'Where do I get my sheep fleece?' - It's £5 per fleece from most farmers, is the answer. I brought 5 sheep fleece this summer from www.sheersheep.co.uk who were demonstrating sheering at Letchworth Arts Festival. One fleece was a super coarse pure white Rams wool - a brilliant wiry contrasting wool to any of the soft lambs wool I'd also bought.

It took two solid days of skirting, washing and drying those five fleece plus a few other Zwartbles (black fleece) on a sunny weekend. This has given me plenty of cheap material to work with over the winter. Only problem is storage usually, but a shed or greenhouse to store the fleece in over winter is fine.

Coarse rams wool and alum
mordant dyed with Madder Root,
second dye makes coral.

After washing and drying the wool I either mordant and/ or dye it. Then comes the nice bit where I card it on my drum carder to clean out any further bits and start selecting colours to blend together. It's like creating a palette to work with.

Depending on what I want to do - either spin all one colour - or have a crazy mix of colours I create 'batts' of different colourways and textures with different types of fleece to create very different yarns. Mixing natural dyed wool with the natural sheep colours - grey, whites and blacks enables all sorts of variations to be achieved.


3 Zwartble batts

Spinning is more interesting when you see the colours and textures change through your fingers. Every piece of wool goes through my hands at least four times before it becomes a finished item - a knitted hat, a scarf, a blanket. That really does make it handmade.

Close up of weave.

I usually make scarves from the softest Wensleydale yarns, and for most of the rest I'm putting it into handmade blankets, ponchos and shawls. It's a slow process, one blanket can take a week to make, but the whole process from sheep to shawl is a great process to know how to do and makes my final work feel like something truly special.

Some coloured wools go towards my 'Weaving with Nature' workshop stash - and this is great to show people at festivals just how beautiful natural colours are.

Oak garden planter

2011-08-27T20:03:00.000+01:00

Here is a little commission I made recently of a garden planter.

I had some short lengths of green oak left over from another job -luckily just enough to finish this. All the joints are slotted and pegged together, following the rough design and size of the old planter it was to replace.

I made it a bit more rustic and freeform however - showing off the curves of the oak a little. It should last many years to come.

Garden structures - An oak and hazel panel

2011-08-23T10:04:00.000+01:00

This summer, Martin and myself were asked to construct a hazel panel as part of a garden redesign. The hazel panel would attract the eye as you walked through the garden and screen a sloping section of wall behind it. It would also be used to support climbing plants.

We made a free standing 6ft x 6ft oak frame, bedded into the ground at a depth of 2ft. Martin had sourced a lovely straight green oak log just by chance for £50 from a local timber merchant and we set about splitting it with axes and wedges. It's a lot of fun and is surprisingly easy to do with a little welly!

We split the log into about eight sections, each sufficient for a post - or rail, choosing the lighter one for the top cross piece. By securing the pieces in the cleaving break we cleaned the faces of the oak posts up with a draw knife.

The frame was drilled and pegged together with dried oak wedges. Enough was left over for Martin to make a slatted bench too - albeit the most uncomfortable bench anyone could ever sit on (not my words!) and I made an oak planter.

The hazel for the panel came from Martins' new coppice at Manor Farm Burton Overy, Leicestershire. A yound wood planted only 11 years ago, - if you look back at previous blog posts you can see us coppicing the hazel last winter. I wove the hazel right to the top and we were done! What a nice job!

Around the rest of the garden I was asked to stake and bind a hedge planted around five years ago. The effect the owners wanted to achieve was to 'define' the garden with a boundary line. This worked well and set off the style of cottage planting. You can see this hedge on the right of this photo.

Hay hay hay rakes!

2011-07-28T14:11:00.000+01:00

I learnt to make hay rakes this year, partly because of an order for 5 children sized hay rakes from the Great Glen Community Wildspace group in Leicester.

I made the handles from ash and sallow, all in slightly different designs because there is more sallow than usable ash in the new wood. Some have forked branches which I thought would be naturally strong, they seemed to work fine.

I used dried silver birch for the tines or teeth - bashing the roughed out dowels through a tine cutter of 11mm to make clean dowels. The tines are set in at approx 1.5" to 2" spacing across the green ash head and flats are put on the backs so the tines don't split.

The handles are drilled into the head at a 70 degree angle to make a good rake, making sure you get this the right way up! Wedges hold the handle onto the head so it was solid. After doing a set of rakes the process became easier, but like most things not tried before there was some head scratching at first.

All full test of the adult sized hay rakes proved they worked great. Martin spent many hours in the mornings mowing the rides with his scythe and the hay rakes did their job well.

Private View Invitation - Gateway, Gallery 3, Shrewsbury - 29th July 7.30pm

2011-07-26T17:25:00.001+01:00

Please come and join me at
The Gateway, Gallery 3, Shrewsbury
for my first Private View at 7.30pm on Friday 29th Julyfor free drinks and nibbles.

This is my summer exhibition of contemporary plein air watercolour landscapes, some of which can be seen on my website at www.elizabethcadd.co.uk

The exhibition continues from 30th July - 12th September 2011.
All welcome, it would be lovely to see you all!

Letchworth Arts Festival - 'Weave with Nature' workshop

2011-07-05T11:41:00.000+01:00

Just spent a fab weekend at Letchworth Arts Festival doing a new workshop I've devised call 'Weave with Nature'. It ticks all my boxes - bringing greenwood, natural materials, colour and a good organic measure of creativity into the mix. The idea of this workshop is to encourage people to get into natural materials, and enjoy natural fibres, plants, textures and colours. I am basically providing a creative space for people to play and explore.

'Weave with Nature'
It's a 'hands on' activity for all kids and adults of all ages using natural materials to weave a 'freeform' weaving. This informal activity encourages people to engage with natural materials in a creative way.

I provide a few free standing upright panels which I warp to provide weaving spaces for a communal artwork. Into these people can weave sticks, leaves, flowers, herbs,grasses, washed sheep wools (some dyed with natural dyes), seed pods andanything that I have collected that morning from the surrounding area.

It makes a very nice seasonal activity which grows into anartwork over the day as people add to it. People can join in and stay for however long they like.Alternatively people can make their own natural weaving on a forked stick frame to take away with them.

It is a useful educational tool to discuss where things like wool comes from, or what plants make a natural dye colour, what plants smell and feel like etc..as well as playing with colour and pattern.Many people said they were inspired by the idea to go away and try this at home (which is what I was hoping for), and the effect with the natural materials was also delightful. It was great to see the kids walking around the festival with their own natural weaving artwork, which brought other kids in looking to make their own.

It is suitable for country fairs, festivals, shows or school workshops - indoorsor outdoors and will reflect the seasons.

If you are interested in booking this workshop or would like me to deviseanother similar activity, please contact me at art@elizabethcadd.co.uk. Tel 07814 609593. I am based in North Shropshire and Leicester and can travel.

There is a flat rate charge to the organizer per day to cover all materials that might beused. If you wish to keep the panels of artworks as a legacy of the daythey can also be purchased for a small fee - this primarily covers the cost of making the rustic frames.

Do get in touch, I am very excited about how this workshop can inspire people!

Ooh, new stools sir!

2011-06-22T14:44:00.005+01:00

Here are a couple of stools I recently made in Leicestershire. One of different cherry woods with a cherry plum seat. The other stool is very light with an oak seat and sweet chestnut legs/ stretchers.

Both are for sale plus other items like my bowls, handspun yarns, weavings and blanket in my Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/lizziebean

Weaving the The Armadillo Hut & Clissett Wood Development Week 2011

2011-04-17T21:34:00.001+01:00

Willow panels woven around hazel rods
drilled into the chestnut posts make great
shapes, and look good on both sides.

The Armadillo Hut
The 'Armadillo' is a woodland hut, it was built by volunteers at Clissett Wood in Herefordshire, England for people to stay in when greenwood chair making courses are running.

The frame of the hut is built from sweet chestnut in the round and is dug into the clay bank. It has a shingle roof and a larch sleeping platform inside. In April 2011 Sheila Wynter, a basket maker from Stroud and myself (artist Elizabeth Cadd) worked on re-fronting the structure with coloured willows. Instead of doing traditional rectangle woven panels we decided to go a bit freeform to make use of the organic shapes.

We used coppiced materials from the sustainably managed surrounding woodland. Hazel poles create the framework to weave through, and different willows created contrasting panels of colour and texture.

We will be building a similar 'play hut in Sheilas garden this spring for her grandchildren (she is 80 this year)!

Me with Sheila and Gary (cherub like in the centre
window) working on the Armadillo hut April 2011).

Willow panels of the Armadillo

Rod working on the firey willow panel

This is a picture of the Armadillo roof going on in 2009. I think there were over 2000 larch shingles, because the roof shape was so difficult to cover -it being a cone shaped.

There was also the renovation of 'The Whale' hut. This has a lovely whale shape. A massive 3 pronged sweet chestnut fork which lies on the ground gives the framework to the entire structure. We used fresh hazel rods again , bending them to create curved sides, then wove fairly thick wills along the length of the sides and roof. A long job! It creates a beautiful dappled light inside. We were hoping to cover this with a clear polythene so the structure could still be seen. The bed platform is made of oak boards, and a hazel panel stands at the entrance.

More photos of this Development Week 2011
at Clissett Wood, Herefordshire on the
Clissett Wood Facebook Group

Rebuilding the surround for the cooking stove.

Tarp going on..

Peter on the roof.

Richard and Peter unfurl the tarp on the new kitchen.

Erecting the new larch frame kitchen

New posts.. about old news ...

2011-04-17T21:06:00.000+01:00

An article about Tool Forging with Ben Orford I did back in November 2010 HERE (just about when my blogging started to slip...I'm catching up now!.)

Turning a few bowls

2011-04-17T18:58:00.000+01:00

Some more bowls since Christmas.

Three small bowls from 1 apple log


Bottoms of three small bowls from 1 apple log

Spalted silver birch

Silver birch burr bowl, turned on a pole lathe

Bodging Milano

2011-04-07T14:14:00.001+01:00

Bodging Milano designers have a new website up telling the tales of their chair making escapades. Here are the greenwood chairs made at Clissett Wood on show in Milan.

More to see at www.bodgingmilano.co.uk , including a picture of my quiche if you can spot it.

Courses at Rutland Water Nature Reserve for 2011

2011-04-05T16:51:00.006+01:00

For 2011 I have been asked to put on a number of Greenwood Working and Spinning courses at Rutland Water Nature Reserve (a partnership between Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust and Anglian Water). The courses will be four 'Pole Lathe Taster Days', a 'Make a Shave Horse Weekend' and 'An Introduction to Spinning Weekend'. Check out the events page for details of how to book:
http://www.rutlandwater.org.uk/eventspage.html

Pole-Lathe Turning Taster Days

Sat 30th April 9am-4pm.
Sun 1st May 9am-4pm.

Sat 18th Jun 9am-4pm
Sun 19th Jun 9am-4pm

Come and learn to use a pole-lathe with the guidance of tutor, Elizabeth Cadd. This one-day course is ideal for beginners new to greenwood working. Starting from a freshly felled tree, you will cleave a log of green wood with axes and wedges, shape it with a draw-knife on a shave-horse, then turn it on a pole-lathe. You should be able to make several simple objects to take away with you such as candlesticks, garden dibbers or experiment with turning some decorative mouldings. Come for a second day to hone your skills. The cost is £45 per person per day. Booking essential

'Make a Shave Horse Weekend'

Sat & Sun 21st-22nd May

9am-4pm. Come and make your most vital piece of greenwood working equipment. On this two day course you will learn to use a variety of hand tools, turn parts on the pole lathe and take away your own working shave horse. The course is led by artist and woodland worker, Elizabeth Cadd. Certificate of achievement on completion,. £90 per person booking essential.

Introduction to Spinning Weekend

Sat & Sun 16th-17th July 9am-4pm.
A two day course using Rutland Water's own sheep wool. You will learn how to select and wash a sheep fleece, prepare it for spinning and then try your hand using a drop spindle. You will be introduced to the basics of using a spinning wheel and for the more advanced, learn some experimental techniques. There will be time to explore ways of creating exciting colour combinations and special effects in your yarn, with chance to practice spinning. Please bring along any spare fleece you may have for the sharing table and any hand spun yarn examples you would like to show the group. Please bring your own spinning wheel if you have one. Certificate of achievement on completion. £90 per person booking essential.

Hope you can make it!

LANTRA Women and Work Awards 2010/11

2011-03-30T11:41:00.000+01:00

In October last year I received £450 from LANTRA's Women and Work grant scheme to do some training to improve my skills in forestry. I did courses in Sustainable Woodland Management, Ride Management, Social Forestry and blacksmithing. Last week Lantra celebrated the achievements of womenworking in male dominated industries inEngland who had accessed Lantra's Womenand Work funding by holding their 2010/11 Awards.

From the 5000 women who participated in the Women and Work scheme, winners in the field of Horticulture, Trees & Timber, Landscaping, Game & Wildlife Management, Environmental Conservation and Agriculture were: Jasmine Bellinger, Nicki Jackson, Victoria Forsyth, Lucy Taylor, Hannah Wharton, Elizabeth Cadd, Annabel Foskett.
Any women interested in applying for a grant to aid their learning in the above industries during 2011 should contact www.angelakimberley.co.uk/women-and-work/ for more info.

Here is the very glamourous Victoria Forsyth - farm labourer and tractor driver, who not only won the Agriculture Women and Work Learner of the Year Award but was also crowned as Lantra's Outstanding Women and Work Learner of the Year.

Wagon in the Wood

2011-03-29T13:12:00.000+01:00

There she blows! Poop Poop!! Finally we made it down to the wood over the fields before the growing summer crops trapped us to the confines of the farmyard. She is nestled in a newly coppiced and thinned wet wood of mainly alder, hazel, willow, hawthorn, cherry etc.

It is still very basic, but you can have a little tour of the inside now. The bunk with my patchwork bolsters makes it a cosy place to sleep at night, whilst the stove manages to boil the kettle in about an hour with some persuasion.Yes, that'll slow down the pace of life a little... we might be looking for a new kettle with a super flat bottom at this rate.

There is a distinct lack of storage at the moment, but with some pottering about I'm sure that will develop. Most importantly is where to put the special whisky and chocolate cupboard. Well what else should I eat and drink down here?

On a more essential note, we dug a compost toilet in the wood between some cherry trees and built a screen around it. The toilet still needs a seat with a hole in it for the 'you know whats' but it will make a visit to the wagon so much more... relaxing?

Woodlanders Wagon progress report

2011-03-28T14:49:00.002+01:00

So, back from the beginning, let's take a more in-depth look at the wagon in the making. Martin had a derelict old hay trailer which he took to renovating and insulating the floor.

In October 2010 we started working out the shape of the hoop curves...with some handy drain rods propped up to give us the general idea of overall height so we could build the front and back walls first by attaching uprights to the trailer bed.

Later Martin does his Universal Man impression climbing up on the front frame to insert the noggins. Most had to be cut at different angles to get the outside curve shape. All I could think about every time the word 'noggins' was mentioned was 'Noggin The Nog'. A little confusing for me being a general carpentry novice.

Next job was attaching the long rails for the sides to the front and back panels. Alder hoops were then square lashed up and over both sides of the trailer and crossed in the middle. This is what the canvas would sit on, so sharp edges from any coppiced hoops had to be removed. Here is a better picture from the side of the square lashing.

Martin made a door in two halves, and we started boarding the front and back walls with cedar tongue and groove that came from an old chicken shed on the farm. The barrel shape edge was cut with a jigsaw cutter, so we could finally get the canvas over the front and back ends to protect the inside from the rain.

Back of the wagon boarded with
gothic shaped window in place.

Front of wagon front boarding,
cutting the barrel shape.

We thought it would be nice to add some windows, so cut out some cardboard shapes and pinned them to the front boarding, adjusting and rearranging them until we were happy. Diamonds seemed to be a nice shape, and broke the front of the wagon up enough giving an adequate amount of light into the interior.

The canvas went on temporarily to keep out the rain and snow, but then there seemed to be an eternal wait during the December when the freezing snowy weather put work on hold. Inside the front and back walls were panelled in a very rustic dark green timber reclaimed from a tree house.

The canvas was finally fixed with batons along the sides with tacks and a lot of pulling to try and make the canvas taught. The extra canvas was trimmed off and then the wooden edging was cut to follow the front and back curves..probably the most fiddly bit of all. They didn't seem to sit very well when screwed over the canvas, but that's something to consider for next time.

Martin trims off the excess canvas.

Back view of the wagon with stays up.


Wagons roll...

At the back we added some stabilizers as the hay wagon only had 2 wheels and tips up if you walk to the back of the wagon! This makes it pretty easy to maneuver however and finally we gave it a turn round the farm yard. With the lack of locks or catches on the doors though, all the windows and doors flew open as Martin drove off. The crashing sound of the newly purchased stove pipe rolling across the floor was also a little worrying.

As the wagon came to rest and the potential damage was surveyed, only a dint in the flue pipe could be found. Here she stayed for a couple of months while the stove pipe was fitted, a bed made across the back wall, some shelves put up and latches and seat cushions added.

The stove came from The Windy Smithy and is an ideal lightweight stove for wagons. Although it takes quite a while to boil a kettle, it ticks over nicely reaching a comfortable 17 degrees C inside.

The other morning (late March) we finally got the go ahead and took the wagon across the fields to the wood where it will stay over summer we hope. I love the way the wood colouring fits into the woodland setting just right. If I could tone down the green a bit it would blend in a little more. Final pictures to come soon!

6 days diary of a coppice worker

2010-12-06T20:52:00.001Z

Thursday 16th Nov Tors Wood, coppicing hazel - 11 stools in total
18 stakes
9 binders
80+ weaving rods
10 small basket rods
18 pea sticks
Martin cut: 3 white willow, 10 hawthorn, 5 poplars, 3 1yr willow, 1 viminalis
Bonfire + logs.

Weds 17th Nov - Tors Wood
10 stakes
11 binders
16 beanpoles
30 weaving rods
4 pea sticks

Martin cut: 2 white willows
5 hawthorn
2 shrub willow

Sun 28th Nov - Tors Wood
Walking along meadow towards Tors wood in the afternoon before sunset. Saw 2 muntjac playing along the hedge. -7 degree C in the morning. Not above -2degree C all day. Snow, terrific red sunset. Woodcock.

Mon 29th Nov - Spinney 1
Finished coppicing willows in Spinney 1 and dogwood on opposite bank. Snow still on ground. Started laying hedge from the corner nearest farmhouse. Martin fell in the ditch pulling out a post with his legs stuck up in the air, ha ha ha.. Toasted chicken sandwiches. Kingfisher spotted. Nice bonfire.

Tues 30th Nov - Spinney 1
Hedgelaying from corner with crab apple trees. Craig and Martin took lower branches off the ash and oak trees in the hedge line. Disturbed squirrel in ash tree. Toasted chicken baps, mince pies. Meg the dog stole my hot potato with cheese I was saving for late afternoon break. Kingfisher, snow flurries.

Wed 1st Dec Spinney 1
Hedgelaying with Martin up to one hawthorn tree overhanging the brook. Waiting for permission to pollard the ash tree with a crack in it. Snow drifts. -2 deg C.
* Need to put more hazel in near the hedge and plant up hedge.

Mon 6th Dec - Tors Wood
Coppiced 9 hazel stools making:
29 stakes
24 binders
20 beanpoles
50 ish weaving sticks
70ish basket weavers
10 pea sticks
9 faggots
1 gandalf staff
2 Y sticks
+ logs.

Martin cut 20 poplar and white willow for converting into fence rails. Left ready for splitting and cleaving.
Prepared posts cut to height 5ft in poplar for a cleaving break and log store.

-6 deg C start in morning. Drove down in truck and collected previous stakes. Delivered corrugated sheets and pallets for log stacks. HAW frost, snow still on ground. Woodcock flew out of shrub near ride. Curlew, robin, goldfinch, magpie. Lovely frosty sunny day. Sparkling white tips to poplars in the top of the trees caught in the sunlight. Mist falling towards 4pm. Ground still frozen walking back up field.

Tool forging with Ben Orford

2010-11-26T20:53:00.000Z

In November of 2010 I did two days with Ben Orford in his workshop tool making. I wanted a few more bowl turning gouges and chisels after making a bowl lathe with him earlier in the year. Blacksmithing is not something I would have tried if I had not had a tour of his workshop previously, as I stupidly presumed this was beyond me. Girls! All I can say is it was totally awesome, give it a go!.

Check out this video if you want a tour of Ben's workshop (beware of workshop envy chaps!)

Here I am with my haul of new tools on the bench, after a blister half way across my hand and a lot of hammering of hot metal. I'm so glad we got to work indoors as my friend Simon and I were camping in November!

Me holding the products of my labour,
with Ben Orford at his workshop in Herefordshire.

My good friend Simon who joined
me for the 2 days.

2 spindle gouges - one roughing out gouge
and a flat chisel. The tangs were very tricky!

Ben is an excellent teacher, if you're interested in Greenwood work or knife making check out his website for a very rewarding learning experience and quality crafted tools. www.benorford.com

Woodlanders Wagon

2010-11-20T00:05:00.000Z

Over the last couple of months I've been helping Martin build a Wagon which we can use when doing coppice and woodland work over in Leicestershire. It's a bit like a gypsy caravan, but built without a plan! It has a happy sort of Heath Robinson feel to it, where we work out what needs doing as we go along... with just about enough forethought to hopefully save us from any major errors...so far, so good!

I think we are both loving this project to bits though, and it's becoming a wagon with great expectations. Looking forward to hours whittling by the stove after a day working in the wood.

I just hope it goes for a test drive sooner rather than later though as Martin has been taking some of the supporting strutts out in order to make space for the stove and bed. My eyebrows did raise a little!? "Are you sure about that I asked?". "It'll be like an aircraft, we'll put 4' panels of ply in the corners instead", said Martin.

Alder hoops square lashed to the frame to make the barrel shape.

Martin trimming the front and back walls to a curved shape.
The tongue and groove wood came from an old chicken shed.

Canvas pulled back while the front and back is cut to shape.

Watch this space for more pics soon...we are ready to cut windows in the front panel to match Martin's lovely half cut door with diamond shape in. Then fitting the canvas properly and fixing the bed and stove in place. Yee Haa!!!

Baaaa

2010-11-19T21:55:00.001Z

No, it's not Baaa Humbug time. It's my Sheep Seat. (Don't say that too fast by the way.)

This project had been hanging around since last year. Greenwood turned ash legs on a poplar seat, steam bent sweet chestnut back hoops finally went on this autumn, and then the seat cushion transpired last month.

It is actually what I intended it to look like, apart from the legs being too high - it should be a much more squat seat height. Still I think it's rather amusing and bizarre!

It's on show in The Gallery at Bishops Castle, Shropshire over Christmas - and is for sale.

Tacking a cotton lining over the seat padding to create the dome shape.

Poplar seat with steam bent sweet chestnut hoops in before the top cushion is added.

Ash turned legs.

Sheep Seat by Elizabeth Cadd, Nov 2010.

Finished Sheep Seat, Nov 2010.

Ladybird and little stools

2010-11-19T00:57:00.000Z

These little stools are an experiment with greenwood work and upholstry. One little ladybird with 6 silver birch legs and padded ash seat. The other tiny footstool or seat with 3 different turned legs and a sycamore padded top.

Social Forestry Course - Day 1

2010-10-14T22:20:00.001+01:00

Today I went on Day 1 of the Social Forestry Course at the Greenwood Centre, Shropshire. Our tutor was Kenny Comain, Forester and Arboriculturalist, previously working as the Social Forestry Officer at the Greenwood Centre, and now running a Social Forestry project for people on the Autistic Spectrum in Leicestershire. Kenny asked us what we thought Social Forestry meant - Being together in a wood? we answered... people making decisions together, making, doing, being well.

In social forestry there is a specific social reason for what you're doing. The aim may be to get your woodland managed, but the outcome is always social, and the site is always forestry.

I love the way Kenny said...

"I'm going to take you back to your Mother....

Nature"

Ask yourself, What is a tree?

This is one of those questions that made me stop and think.You can answer that question on many levels. I sat and thought about how amazing they are, how incomprehensibly amazing they are. We looked at tree biology, and then types of woodland management including coppice, pollarding, clear fell and replant, continuous cover, agroforestry, woodland gardening, strip clearing and planting in new ground.

Social Forestry Objectives
We looked at the objectives of Social Forestry. On the social side the benefits were for creativity, exercise, amenity, wellbeing, interpersonal skills, employement, craft skills, financial, confidence, self esteem, nature connection and creating an awareness that nature is important.On the forestry side the objectives were for timber production, sustainability, diversity of age class, species, habitat and structure, for beauty, conserving endangered red list species, woodfuel, food, erosion control and coppice crafts materials. It was emphasized that looking at any of these in isolation is a problem. We must take the overall view for a social forestry project to be successful.

Designing A Social Forestry Project
We were asked to pick a client group and to think about their needs.What preparations do you need to make for this to happen? If it's a 10 week programme, what can you achieve in this time? We were asked to do a timeline of the first day of our projects. Overall, things have to be safe and you need to be happy with things before going ahead. Physical and emotional safety of the participants will come from the safe environment you create. Plan a project with the appropriate level of challenge - too challenging and it won't help their self esteem, not enough challenge and they can loose interest.

Malpas Rally, Cheshire. - 11th & 12th September 2010

2010-09-06T14:06:00.001+01:00

This weekend (Sept 11th & 12th) I'll be doing a wood turning demo at the Malpas Vintage Rally, Cheshire. The rally has an amazing collection of steam engines, vintage tractors, gypsy caravans, horse and carts, vintage cars, military vehicles, commercial vans, motorcycles, fairground, machinery and working demonstrations.

You find the rally at Hampton, Malpas, Cheshire. Alongside the A41, fourteen miles south of Chester, six miles north of Whitchurch, Shropshire. Post Code SY14 8JN.

Gate prices Adult £8, Seniors £7, Children £3, under 5 free. Family ticket £20.

Dogs welcome on leads. Public camping available.
More info: www.malpas-yesteryear-rally.co.uk/rally.htm

Looking at Forest Schools

2010-09-03T23:20:00.001+01:00

This morning I met with the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin FEI (Forest Education Initiative) Forest School Cluster group for a 'Forest School Practitioners Day'.What a mouthful! Teachers or Forest School Practitioners and Trainers came together for networking and a few outdoor practical workshops. I went along to see if it might be up my street.

Some of you who know me, may have some idea of just how many practical arts and crafts skills I've racked up over the years..I can hardly keep track of them myself. Put together with my love of outdoors, woodlands, fire, conservation, greenwood working, rural crafts, and a willingness to work with other people, it's all coming together in a melting pot of creative outdoor craftiness - ripe for the picking.

I had teachers telling me they didn't have any ideas for activities for their second and third term projects, and trainers telling me they needed more practical workshops to share with other workshop leaders. In the middle is me thinking, I can do that, I've got too many ideas, and I can show you how to do that too..

Somehow I feel strangely needed all of a sudden ;-))

The pictures on the left are of the simple peg loom weaving with sheep wool and needle felting workshop with Sara of Shropshire Wildlife Trust.

Then a workshop on Woodworking ideas for Foundation Level (that's age 4+) with LauraHarvey of Secret Hills Discovery Centre, making tiny tables and stick insects. Glue is used for sticking leaves and sticks together to make things like snowmen.
For this workshop they generally use a half size bow saw, a hand drill, potato peelers for whittling sticks and tenons, a billhook and mallet for splitting - sharing the tasks and all under close adult supervision.

Also a nice book called 'Stick Man' - I've got some bedtime reading to do here.

The World's BIGGEST Wild Telescopes

2010-09-03T21:48:00.006+01:00

This is the design for The World's BIGGEST Wild Telescopes. I'm helping artists Janice Barrett and Sue Campbell build this sculpture from willow and hedgerow materials in the Onny Meadow as part of the Craven Arms Art Walk next weekend.

I'm here for part of my Community Arts training (practical) gaining hands-on experience of seeing artists working with the public. We are offering free willow weaving workshops to anyone who is interested in lending a hand.

Liz and Janice cutting willow in Much Wenlock

It is proving to be an incredibly positive experience for me and I've met a lot of great people on the training course. I'm hoping Mairi - (photographic artist and fellow trainee ) who has been taking snaps of us in various stages of willowness - harvesting and construction, will pick out some not too unflattering examples of the work in progress.In fact, here are some of her great photos...have a look at her website: mairiturnerphotography.co.uk

Liz and Janice cutting willow in Much Wenlock.

Me having too much fun weaving.

So far we've harvested willow from Much Wenlock (although it's not quite the right time of year for doing this), worked on small scopes and today worked on the larger scopes. Children and visitors have been making willow fans for filling in the platform pad supports, collecting material from the hedges and other weeds growing about like teasels and ivy for decorative weaving.

Come along if you can - see the list of dates if you fancy having a go.

Liz working on a mini- scope in it's frame which will be added to the main construction.

Liz and Julia weaving a giant telescope.

Kirsty weaving mini-scopes.

Sue and Janice, lead artists on the Giant Telescopes

Patrick Dougherty - Stick Man

2010-09-03T21:20:00.001+01:00

I am hoping to be working on a project with Patrick Dougherty as a volunteer in France next year during June 2011 at Trévarez, helping build one of his sculptures. Although I have practically no details of what I'll be helping with exactly, it's probably willow, and it's probably big!

Somewhere in the Domaine de Trévarez in gardens, abbey or chateax, something will be woven. Visit www.cdp29.fr. for info on the Domaine de Trévarez.

Here is a link to Patrick Dougherty's website: www.stickwork.net

These sculptures are so stunning aren't they?

Clissett Wood Open Weekend 18th & 19th Sept 2010

2010-09-03T20:47:00.004+01:00

Open Weekend at Clissett Wood coming up - for tea and cakes, greenwood working & blacksmithing demos, baskets, furniture, felted birds, chainsaw carving, cart rides and more!

Come along and enjoy being in the wood.

For more info contact Gudrun Leitz Tel: 01531 640125
email gudrun@greenwoodwork.co.uk

Cherry plum burr turning and carving

2010-08-25T23:36:00.002+01:00

This is an object of no real function whatsoever... just an interesting piece of wood with great raspberry ripple colours.

I turned it off-centre on the bowl lathe hoping to see some interesting patterns in the burr, but that was relatively plain all the way through. I then carved the bowl some more with a spoon gouge so it has a more bulbous inner.

The lip or rim of this piece was possibly the most interesting result of this project and I like the way it falls away from the top, although if I'd thought about it a bit more before taking it off the lathe I would have tidied that up a lot more. I hand carved the back of the rim to make it less weighty.

And these were the helpful suggestions as to what it is:

An otters head sticking out of the water.

A hat.

An animal skull.

Darth Vaders mask.

Something for flower arranging.

Objet d'art.

A berberis spoon and room for improvement

2010-08-25T23:10:00.001+01:00

A little berberis spoon, had a bit of a crack in the bowl, but I thought I'd persevere because it's such a great coloured wood.

Although some of you may think this would go with the 'natures ugly bowl series', as the twist in the handle makes it a bit impractical to use. If my spoons start this badly, I tell myself, then surely the scope for improvement is immense...and it can only get better... (keep repeating until it does (get better that is))...

Herefordshire Country Fair Aug 1st 2010

2010-08-02T01:16:00.000+01:00

I had a busy day demonstrating the pole lathe at the Herefordshire Country Fair, this year held at Hampton Court. I was up so early to go and set up, only to find some chicken coups piled in my allotted spot.

Anyway, further down the field, and still around the horse jumping ring I set up the pole lathes and shave horses. After a slow start, the crowds flocked in until I was thoroughly worn out by 5pm.

9 day July 2010 and steambending a continuous back

2010-08-01T00:33:00.002+01:00

Some photos from the first 9 day chairmaking course of 2010. I wasn't around on the last day to see the finished projects, but all week they were working hard.

Molly taking a break from whittling her legs whilst Sheila Winters sat for hours whittling her tenons on the hazel fork for the back of her chair.

STEAM BENDING A CONTINUOUS HOOP

In the next few photos is the sequence of steam bending a continuous hoop for the back of Gordons fabulous windsor.

Here you can see the ash being pulled around the top of the former... with a bit of muscle.
Gudrun then knocks in pegs and wedges to hold this in place around the former.

The ash is then bent downwards over the front of the former, pegged in place again, then clamped to the former.

This is Gordon, with (in my opinion) the most beautiful chair I've seen in the making yet.

Look at the way the tenons go right through the stretchers. Gordon says for commissions he asks his clients how long they want these, sometimes they end up just as buttons.

And finally a poor quality photo of Gordons unfinished design. (If you have the final photos course members - please send them over, I'd love to see them!) I called this 'The chatting up chair', because it's invitingly wide for two people, but you end up rather close.

So finally, a picture of Gordon's finished chair...

A pea server

2010-07-25T01:20:00.001+01:00

I finally have some pics of this spoon, since I left it in someone's kitchen (you know who you are..).

It's a piece of cheery plum with a burr for the bowl. There are great spots of red in the bowl which I enjoyed carving my way through and the back looks like a bone - pure neanderthal. Nice peachy colours up the handle and a wych elm bark loop.

Natures Ugly Bowls

2010-07-21T00:40:00.002+01:00

Carving out my own niche, dedicated to the ugly fruit and veg out there...

More stunning bowls and vessels

2010-07-21T00:34:00.001+01:00

Some more stunning vessels on Etsy, this time at the Natural Selection Studio. View the shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/makye77

Now I'm really feeling inadequate! Enjoy!

Inspiring bowls by Borisbadinov

2010-07-21T00:05:00.001+01:00

Browsing through Etsy.com I spotted this little stunner made by Borisbadinov of Waukesha, Wisconsin. He has many really beautiful bowls made of greenwood. Really worth taking the time to have a look through his gallery, I feel so totally inadequate now, but truly inspired!
Here's a link to his Etsy shop and gallery :
box-elder-crotch-bowl-with-red-grain

Bangs, bumps, special people and an Italian night.

2010-07-14T19:31:00.001+01:00

Saturday I roughed out a bowl blank from one day fresh felled sycamore. The grain was superbly straight in this wood and had just the pattern of pinstripes, clean and white. So this sat on the lathe ready until Sunday as I was busy doing repairs for the Clissett Wood kitchen including making new legs for broken benches and new shave horse parts.

I was also contemplating my elm plank which was to be my next big project as an indoor bench. I had discovered it was still being eaten by woodworm since my last inspection, as many new holes had appeared. It was decided that I could put legs on it after it was treated by Gudrun, but it'll be left at the wood. I was very reluctant to use this as a piece I might want to sell despite having cleaned most of the surface and crevices up. I've had a very unpleasant experience with woodworm treatment and a cowboy builder in the past, and the thought of going near that stuff again makes me simply nauseous.

That evening we had a nice chat getting to know each other and a wee nip of whiskey before bedtime. Nobody told me it was cask strength, as I wondered why I was staggering back up the hill after only a snitch. Good sleep though!

Sunday was one of those days when you think you shouldn't be in the workshop, when accidents keep happening for whatever reason. I gave myself a bang on the forehead with the back of an axe handle which slipped out of a log I was moving. Later an egg came up and I was likened to the Klingon Lt.Worf out of Star Trek. Not a good look! I was not dizzy and was functioning reasonably normally as far as I could tell.

On returning from the wood I looked up Frontal Lobe on Wikipedia, it says:
"The executive functions of the frontal lobes involve the ability to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions, to choose between good and bad actions (or better and best), override and suppress unacceptable social responses, and determine similarities and differences between things or events. Therefore, it is involved in higher mental functions."

I should therefore warn you that anything I do from now on may or may not be socially acceptable ... and no change there then... just tell me if I overstep the mark please?
Shortly after this happened I managed to scrape a gash in my leg. Time to have a cup of tea... and move away from the sharp objects Liz...

On Monday morning I got up early and turned a 'nice' sycamore bowl. It was nice in that it was deep and thin, although I'm not entirely sure my finish is improving on the inside. I seem to get a good finish on the outside, but loose it a bit on the inside. I also came across my two problem areas yet again. (At least I've identified them now.) Getting the rim right and leaving it alone once you start carving out the inside of the bowl - (hence numerous knife marks in the rim) and then cutting out the cone, which is still too fat and chunky to break off easily. I watched Robin Woods you tube video (Masterclass: Robin & Michail share skills ) and see them just snapping the bowl off like a biscuit.

Anyway I gave this bowl to Ro as a present since she was doing a brill job as Vegan cook this week. She was making beetroot risotto and we discussed dying the bowl with the beetroot, just out of interest. It didn't happen though.

Tuesday I awoke to the sound of mooing in the next tent, competing with the cows over the road. (There are some very special people that come to the woods, some more special than others it seems.) So here's a few pictures... Hamish and Ro, Paul sporting his grumpy moose horns. (Happy horns go upwards.) And below, Gary on the lathe turning is way through a piece of wood.

Today I made an awful lot of wedges, as I have 101 spare parts to put together as part of 'The Random Turning' project - all odd turned salvaged pieces from the workshop and demo scraps, tidied up and hopefully going together into miniature small chairs. I drilled holes for my ladybird stool which I intend to upholster, and made a very tiny 3 legged stool. Other workshop repairs included 6 legs for lathe side tables and 4 curved legs for the elm bench to be completed on the next course.

Tuesday evening we had a great Italian night, with Aussie Paul making pizza dough in the morning and supervising the cooking (in forno) in the evening. A little vino was drunk, splendid pizza served up and some amusing pigeon Italian spoken. I even have a hazy recollection of some singing about 'Amore'. Discussions about a coffee table book of comb-overs, and a Jaffa cake operated Jack Russell wheel powered lathe were some of the main topics of conversation that evening.

So here are some final pictures from the week. What a great set of chairs and tables. Many fine windsor seats were adzed out and some individual designs made by this strong group. Ro made yet another wildform chair to complement her last chair - the Rowan in the legs and spindle makes a striking pattern. Heather made a cricket table with oak top, Sarah, a large low ladderback.

The most striking design was the double arched back seat seen in the center of the group photo. Happiness in the workshop all round it seems.

Hang on a minute..what's Ro holding?

This is Sarah's ladderback with slatted seat.

This was an attempt to make two spoons from a turned blank of sycamore. It wasn't quite going to plan.. we'll see if Ro made anything out of it next time.

Lastly, we've had such lovely evenings lately, if any of you are wondering about whether camping in the woods is all it's cracked up to be, well it is...this is sometimes the best bit - watching the campfire glow and watching the stars come out.

Da Clissett Crew in da Wood

2010-06-30T10:34:00.003+01:00

After loosing my tented moonlit scribblings twixt the laundry basket and a week elsewhere, thinking I had found them and then once again hunting and praying that something resembling a fledgling blog entry would fall from an unwashed pocket, I will now attempt to decipher said precious scraps and recall the week of The Sculptural Seating Course...

I know it's a little late, but half the reason for my pause was because of the topics covered during this week which may need a little tact in explaining, plus an adult guidance certificate?

The first event on my arrival, was to serve up my shin as a five course meal for the midges. - In a very fetching diagonal stripe. Argghhh. Wet humid woodland weather this week. On the course we had some budding chair makers and a few sculptural bench makers. We only had four campers in the wood, two down the lane in a camper van and the others leaving us to it for the evenings.

It didn't even take one evening before Ian (on a return trip to Clissett) drew out (on paper that is) his new spankula design. The Flipmate 6000... for discipline on the go! Designed like a flick-knife for rapid action.

Also mentioned was the mini version, the 'Pursemate 600' (patent pending). Note the 'snaps out and locks' design and the worryingly bottom shaped trinket on a lanyard to hang out of your bodgers pocket, (it's a sign to those in the know). And no, I don't have one of those in case you were wondering!

As I was cooking on this 5 day course, I rustled together various previously unheard of recipes. The menu this week was bodgers stew, bodgers stir fry, bodgers fruity curry, bodgers roasted veggies with pasta bake, and a few rustic nutty salads thrown in for good measure. I love not doing the washing up...

So, with my free afternoons I turned to my bowl lathe for a good practice since only making one bowl previously on the Ben Orford course. Martin had given me some freshly cut eucalyptus which I had roughed into a few bowl blanks two days previously. Unfortunately (or not) during the seering heat the blanks had started to crack in the way eucalyptus does - all over the place! I must be more careful storing the logs..

But still I wanted to see how they would work out and made one bowl each afternoon. Getting progressively quicker and more aggressive until my elbow really ached. You can see on the left, my bowls 2, 3 and 4 in eucalyptus, next to a Robin Wood spalted beech bowl which John the fireman had brought out to show me.

No. 5 was a sweet little silver birch mushroom just prepared for turning. I keep joking that I only want to make teacups and saucers, but this was a really lovely shape to work. Bowl turning the silver birch was a bit of a furry event on the end grain and took some cleaning up with the knife afterwards, but I just loved the size and the lightness of it. On this day I finished early and headed off to British Camp on the Malverns in search of a cool breeze and a good view to paint.

Lastly this week was a monster deep bowl of poplar. A rather large knot appeared to be coming out of the bottom, not great for the tools I know, but I wanted to see if I could try a bowl with almost straight sides and about 3" deep. The poplar was the only piece of wood to hand deep enough to try this. Despite it being hard work because it wasn't even green, it's come up with very interesting and lovely colours - greys, golds, reds and makes a convincing small fruit bowl. Thanks to John Rees for making me a little hook knife at the wood to finish off the bowls. Very useful!

After showing a 'certain person' my efforts and them being called 'ugly', I am now launching my new range of Natures Ugly Bowls. These are quite simply the best thing in which to put your ugly fruit and veg. I rest my case. Other comments on the bowls go generally along the lines of 'it makes a good lampshade...or hat. Now the bodgers camping here had a little fashion show one evening, sporting my bowls on their heads with shavings as hair and other plank offcuts as head-garb in a modern catwalk look.

If someone has the photos, please send me some, we need to see this! The little silver birch bowl made an excellent fascinator. Here on the left you can see a cartoon of Ian sporting his bowl with a few alfalfa shavings coming out of the top. (He is also bending over the bench in a provocatively Pursemate 600 kind of way.)

So onto other matters... In da wood, der was de Clissett Crew, in-it.
An deeze were de campers gettin' up to de funny biz nez at nite. Wicked.

A rhyme from Ian goes:

I'm sittin' in da wood,
Workin' wit me travisher,
I see a liccle lady,
I tink I wanna ravish-'er.

Imagine on and on..luckily only travishing went on, apart from Ian's impersonations to keep us rolling around with laughter. My only regret is not being part of this photo.

Here is a picture of Ian with his wonderful running legged ash bench. He made some metal staples to go across the split, and carved 'A Good Run of Ash' in the underside. Gudrun..get it? You could tell he was an actor when he returned from a beer-run on the last evening with bicardi breezers and stella served in a bucket of ice. Nice touch!

As well as making a substantial oak bench, and an excellent bolognaise, fireman John, who is used to making trinkets and masses of other craft things tried his hand at wood turning.. and oh dear what do you know, he made his wife a fertility dibber.

And had the ladies in a spin...

Whilst Dave made his wife Pauline a wife-beater.
All I can say is it must have been the hot weather!

END of PART 1.

Da Clissett Crew in da Wood ..part 2

2010-06-30T09:56:00.002+01:00

This is Dave and Pauline who made two nice chairs between them.

Anneka made a little stool with wych elm bark seat as well as an unfortunate trip to A&E after poking herself in the eye pulling out a tenon. Ouch!

This week we also had a happy couple celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary, for which Jo (the cook) dressed the table in a traditional Portuguese style with ferns and woodland flowers.

Hanging above them she made a willow heart decorated with flowers too. Cake and gooseberry fool was eaten!

So lastly, a few snaps of the finished chairs and benches.
Colin with his very substantial ladder back and slatted seat chair.

Also Deborah one of the Clissett Wood owners made a hooped back windsor style chair.

Lastly here is a picture of my final bowls from the week, oiled up and fully warped. The eucalyptus is getting quite an orange glow about it now.

Thank you to such a great group on this course.
My ribs were aching from laughing too much!

Please email me if you have photos to share at
mail@lizcadd.plus.com

Fashion hat show, thanks to Anneke for the photos!

Springwatch Wild Day Out in Sandwell Valley

2010-06-07T19:16:00.008+01:00

Yesterday I enjoyed a busy day in the Black Country demonstrating the pole lathe and 'have a go' sessions at the Springwatch Wild Day Out in Sandwell Valley. The purpose of the day was to promote biodiversity through a range of 'hands-on' nature based activities to people of all ages. It was very busy all day on my stand with 2 lathes going and 2 shave horses on hand. Quite a few kids came back for a second go after walking around the site.

Organized by Sandwell MBC, BBC and Natural
England, we had Larry Jones making hazel hurdles, Tamzin making willow weaving, Jo Callaghan doing art with the kids inspired by nature, Granville Reeves making besoms, Dave Jackson making Gypsy Flowers, Peter Harmer chainsaw carving, Doug Joiner with heavy horses, Sherwood Keogh making cleft Oak fencing, gates and hurdles. Jacqui Parkes with her milking and cheesemaking demo, Toby Allen and Aly May with their vintage pailing machine, then me on the pole lathes. Around the outside of the site were marquees with local nature groups and activities to encourage and inspire the public to get involved.

Here are a few snaps from the day!

Greenwood Trading

2010-06-05T12:56:00.001+01:00

Quite a while ago I painted a picture in the woods, it was a kind of impressionistic woodland scene with long time volunteer at Clissett Wood, Kean in the distance working away. He liked it so much he asked if he could have it. 'Sure', I said and gave it to him. Kean though, was not willing to accept the painting for free, so I suggested doing a greenwood trade.

"Think of something I could do for you Liz", he said, and I suggested he make me a nice cooks spatula because I've used many of his lovely spatulas in the Clissett Wood kitchen.

So Saturday we both happened to be at the wood and low and behold he had made me something ;-))
- or two things in fact. A cooks spatula and spoon!

Made from the two halves of a cherry log from a tree cut down in Herefordshire this May 2010. I have to say that I was really gobsmacked at how lovely they are. Thankyou so much Kean they are really beautiful!!

Staffordshire County Show 2 & 3rd June 2010

2010-06-03T20:22:00.024+01:00

I went along to the midweek Staffordshire County Show on Wednesday and Thursday to help Gudrun Leitz on the pole lathes and learn the ropes for 'demonstrating', in preparation for my first gig at the Springwatch Big Day Out in Sandwell. I was slightly apprehensive about dealing with the public, but I've been told numerous times that 'I'm good with people' whatever that means! ha ha! This is such a great show for the greenwood workers because unlike any other shows we are actually in the woods and not in a field.

The Woodfest section of the Staffs County Show is located in Lower Berry Wood at the edge of the Country Pursuits arena. It is owned by the Staffordshire & Birmingham Agricultural Society. The wood is managed during the two days of the County Show and if you visit the wood during the show you will be able to see how management is helping to restore this beautiful wood.

The shady coolness of the woods was also welcome relief from the blazing sunshine and bussle of the market stalls...that is until Pete Harmer starts his chainsaw carving demo up. 'Is it a pig, a bear, or hippo', I ask? 'Depending on whether it goes to plan, it should be a pig', says Pete.

Next down the track was Paul Morton, busy making a bothy - an old charcoal burners hut. This structure had a drystone base and long chestnut poles forming a cone shaped roof. Later the roof would be covered with pine brash and sods of earth. The bothies were dark and gave only basic shelter from the weather, and not much comfort. Here you can see a budding greenwood worker having a go at shaving the bark off the chestnut poles with a draw knife. A small drum of charcoal was being made as part of the demonstrations.

Along the track we came across Sherwood Keogh giving cleaving demonstrations. Oak is cleft for fencing, gates and hurdles. This highly skilled and hard work produces the strongest and most durable timber.

Take a look at Sherwoods cleaving breaks, I particularly liked the moveable tripod design on the right for lighter cleaving work.

The trees felled each day at Lower Berry Wood, are extracted by horse and taken to the woodmeiser where Matthew Joiner was demonstrating. This professional mobile saw mill planks and beams the trees felled into useful timber which is then used to make bird and bat boxes as well as picnic benches in the wood.

Activities for younger children included making 'Harry Potter' besom brooms with Amy Brickhill. ( I saw a few witches flying around the woods...) Then also art inspired by nature with Jo Callaghan - making leaf collages, rubbings and painted sticks. Messy but great fun as Jo always drags me over to have a go!

Gudrun's pole lathe and shave horse 'have a go' sessions were busy all day, where I helped out.

Opposite the pole lathes was Clog maker Jeremy Atkinson making traditional wooden soled and leather clogs. He is apparently Britain's last remaining clog maker. At the Staffs show, he was making clog soles from fresh cherry, and people stood around fascinated watching him.

During my chat with Jeremy, Lyndsay who had ordered a pair of clogs the previous year, came back to have them fitted. She presented the clogs back to Jeremy saying she was feeling guilty she had left it so long to have them fitted and was also not 100% sure she could do it herself successfully despite Jeremy's written instructions on the clog itself.

Take a look at the fitting instructions, I just had to get a picture of this! You don't get fitting like this is a high street shop! (You may have to click on the picture to read the text.)

It reads, "Dear Lindsey, please try each of these on in turn with your heel against the leather, draw round your foot so that the line you draw falls vertically below the edge of your foot. You'll need to angle the biro inward to acheive this *. Then pull over the thread and tie off to get your arch height. Also mark any point underfoot which is uncomfortable and return!"

This is Lyndsey having her clogs fitted - measuring the height of the arch, checking for comfort, then deciding on which leather upper she wanted. Lyndsey said her friends thought she was crazy spending £150 on a pair of clogs, then she went on to say how 3 of them had just spent £50 each on a pair of flip flops which would last a summer at most.

Lyndsey started saving up by putting money in a shoe every day...unfortunately she started dipping into her clog fund and now has to save up again to have them finished off.

Jeremy just had a customer from 15 years ago bring back a pair of clogs for repair. He said "I make them to last, which means they cost more to make. It's harder for me to earn a living that way, because they last so long, but that's the way it should be". Hopefully we'll see Lyndsey in her new clogs by the end of the year.

Further up the track was Owen Jones, one of only two professional oak swill basket makers in the country. Oak swills are traditional, beautiful and very strong. You can sit and talk to Owen for hours while he makes the baskets at a rate of 2 or 3 large baskets a day. He is just one of those thoroughly interesting crafts people.

Lastly Doug Joiner and his apprentice Richard were working the heavy horses in the wood. Chain harrowing and rolling bracken, felling and hauling timber to the woodmeiser.

Lovely to see everyone having such a nice time at the show, and all of the Woodfest section was organised by Doug Joiner - well worth a visit next year!

Twisting birch back bench.

2010-05-20T23:31:00.011+01:00

Just returned from the wood with another nearly finished project. I was working on this freeform bench with an ash seat and silver birch legs and back. I started turning the spindles on
the recent Designers Week course and had them drying in plenty of time. What a pleasure it is to turn silver birch! Yummy! I had a little experiment steam bending a few of the turned birch spindles but they mostly decided to break at the knots.

I had intended to put two back rails on this bench, but decided in the end not to obscure the curved rail and twisting spindles on the right hand side. Drilling all the holes at crazy angles without help, but using two sliding bevels, sticky tape and a large amount of 'guestimation' was interesting. This is something I'm getting used to so I can work on my own when needed.

I still need to put a few butterflies along the split in the seat, level the legs, and general tidying up. I'm hoping this will be ready for the Ellesmere exhibition coming up in mid June.

Welsh Stick Chair course 14th - 19th May 2010

2010-05-19T14:00:00.007+01:00

The Welsh Stick chair course is a popular course bringing together some of the more rustic inspired chairmakers and also those looking for a more refined looking chair. Ro, on the right is a returning course student and was also assistant volunteer cook on this occassion. Previously she has made two very wild chairs which perhaps reflect her personality? Here she is working out the placement of the arms and back for a seat for herself. Characteristics that keep coming back in Ro's work are knotty bumps on the rail at the back, slightly odd arms, and a non-symetrical seat (usually with a rotten hole in), alongside knobbly legs etc. She had an old ash plank, some Rowan for the legs and arms and had found a knotty ash branch for the back rail. I helped her drill the legs in the seat after much deliberation.

Chris Eckersley, one of the Furniture Designers on the Designers course came along to make some tressils for a table to go with Designers chairs. A couple of the woman wanted to make outdoor benches and here you can see Gudrun working out the placement of the legs and angles with them.

Jo, (the cook on this course) had also come along with her large stash of dried chair legs and yew seats to try to marry some together. Plying her hungry co-workers with plenty of homemade cake, home grown dexter beef from her small holding and all kinds of preserved pickels and treats, Jo dropped some heavy hints that she was in need of drilling help as her elbows were a bit dodgy. Here you can see Jo quickly posing for the camera before Paul is handed the drill back to get on with the hard work! Come on Paul, only 3 more seats to go!

Jo also kindly brought me 3 fresh sheep fleece that had been shawn just that day. 1 ram lamb jacobs, and two jacobs x cotwolds lamb fleece. Very soft and lovely dark colours. I decided to wash these in the woods as the weather seemed pretty good. It took most of an evening to boil enough hot water over the campfire, and half fill the metal dustbin (washed out mind you). I put a good dollop of soap in the water till it became slick and then gently submerged two skirted fleece in the hot water, leaving them overnight. The next morning the rinsing in the shower hut began, giving it all about 4 rinses of warm water until the water ran clear. Then, hanging the fleece up to dry out in the sun, and turning it occasionally, most of it was dried in a day.

Then some bright idea was to catch all the volunteers in the newly found jacobs fleece-wig. I am still waiting for the photos of Jo and Matt to get back to me...at the moment I think Ro looks the most naturel, and Paul looks more like captain caveman.

One of our course participants was Matthias from Denmark. He had seen the Mastercrafts programme and just had to come and 'do it'. He had a gift for picking things up visually very quickly, and managed to turn himself a bowl, make a hoop backed side chair and also try out some rustic stool ideas. He also had the habit of whistling a half finished tune throughout the course which made a few of us chuckle. Matthias's clogs had some fascination for people here too, and since they had worn out while he was here, he donated them to me for plant holders. On his way home he was selling sheep skins from Poland and was hoping to come back to Clissett Wood as a volunteer in the future.

So here is the line up of the finished chairs and benches.
Well done group!

Finally, I would like to post this picture of Ro attempting a 3 way split of some knobbly ash. I believe she was looking for 3 equal legs, and I caught her doing this without guidance... How many wedges have you got in that piece of wood Ro? Well, I guess we all have days like this...

St Fagans - National History Museum of Wales

2010-05-11T11:56:00.003+01:00

A proper bodgers day out! Jo, Jane and myself went to St Fagans National Museum of Wales near Cardiff to see Welsh stick chairs and find anything else of interest. Although the weather was seriously cold, (well it was Wales), it was a totally absorbing experience for all of us. I hadn't been before and was intrigued to find the collection of buildings and interiors showing the changing patterns of living. Over forty original buildings from various historical periods in Wales have been re-erected throughout the 100-acre parkland. (Visit their website here http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/stfagans/historic-buildings/)

In a red painted cottage, upstairs was this most fascinating ceiling we had ever seen, like living inside a basket! We couldn't unfortunately find anyone who could tell us about the inside of this roof, on the outside it was thatch. The two rooms had the most beautiful feel to them, sparsely furnished, but absolutely stunning. Note the wonderfully curved cross beams above the green four poster bed. For me the beauty and simplicity of these buildings had a real purity about them. Reminiscent of the Shaker style, the clutter of life is kept to a minimum. Craft and functionality come together to make a wonderful balance.

Nearly every aspect of the buildings, from the structure to the tools hanging up, the chairs, beds, spinning wheels (both Jo and I being spinners too) and various treen in even the most basic of buildings were of interest to us. All three of us felt like naughty school children - getting told off for handling the spoons and bowls, caressing the stick chairs, and aged worn settles. There is something about wood that makes you want to touch it, especially something that is well used and lived in. Jo with tape measure and camera to hand, took notes of dimensions and designs of Welsh stick chairs for upcoming projects.

The rooms are pretty much unlit, so we found ourselves peering into the darkness in search of objects.

More to come on this post soon...

Making a Bowl Lathe with Ben Orford

2010-05-06T00:29:00.005+01:00

Just some quick snaps from the Make a Bowl Lathe & Bowl Turning course with Ben Orford.
This morning Ben took us to his workshop and showed us how he made the tools we were finally using after 4 days of making our lathes. You can see the expressions on some of the course participants faces - confusion, admiration, intrigue. An entire week of great tuition and passion for his subject. More to come soon...

Bodger's Relish

2010-04-15T00:01:00.001+01:00

9th April 2010
Many sounds can be heard in the woods, but by far, my favourite is that of laughter. Uproarious, bellowing, tummy stitching giggles, caused by a rolling joke (or in this case a pure fantasy). You never know what you will find if you go into the woods today... or what people will be talking about..

Let me tell you about my first attempts at making a Spatula. It was modeled on a very nice paddle shaped stirrer in the Clissett Wood kitchen. It has an unfussy but attractive short turned handle and a wide oval flat. A nice design. My first attempt to copy this was back in April 2008.

When you start greenwood working you make all the obvious mistakes, and this had the lot... My spatula was wide, had a good short handle, but an unfortunately wedged shaped flat, too thick at the neck end and pointed to a fine tip at the other to render it pretty much unserviceable for kitchen use. In all seriousness this was my best attempt at the time, and being cook thought it would be rather nice to scatter lovingly carved treen around the kitchen for all to enjoy.

As I entered the kitchen that evening with my Spatula to hand, it was promptly labelled a Spanking Paddle by the male populous of that group, back in 2008. Some imaginings of the cook (ie. me), doling out quiche (not quickies) and discipline in equal portions were bandied about, to which I don't think I've ever regained a true sense of authority or composure when handling a spatula.

Now, to get back to last weekend. Those of you (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) who have been VERY BAD are about to be delivered up to the internet with all your sordid little fantasies... Ahh the joys of blogging ;-) This group, (with only the tiniest bit of encouragement from me) latched onto the greenwood spanking paddle idea with such gusto that it was Christened 'The Spankula'.

Greenwood fetish items for kitchen discipline I dare say have not been entered into the Bodgers Ball treen competition before. I have drawn the plan of the design of the Spankula 100. One side carved in the wood it reads STIR ME, the other side SPANK ME.

I attempted to make a prototype and got as far as placing it on the lathe, but unfortunately my workshop time ran out. I have instead, an unfinished (but handled) lump of Silver birch with protruding splinters should anyone feel the need to take matters in hand. Although it was a valid attempt at a prototype, the surface area I felt, would not surfice.

Further sketches and designs were put forward over the weekend including the Spankula 3000 model (patent pending) with drilled holes for greater velocity. BAD BODGERS pay 10p per spank in the shower hut. (Honesty box provided (minimum purchase £5)...(health and safety rules apply)). Please form an orderly queue...when the bell rings.

Clissett Wood new Facebook Group

2010-04-06T14:39:00.000+01:00

I've created a Facebook group for all the volunteers, owners, friends, course students and aspiring bodgers to keep in touch and share photos with each other online > Clissett Wood Facebook Group

Designers head to the chopping block...

2010-04-05T21:41:00.006+01:00

A full and furious week of thinking and making was going on at Clissett Wood these last 6 days. Starting with a nervous group of Designers wondering what they'd actually let themselves in for. They swapped the glamourous shiny studio lights of London for the leaf-strewn wintery mud tracks of a Herefordshire woodland, rustic and as natural as can be.

Not everyone had met each other before the course, and only Chris Eckersley had previous bodging experience at Clissett. Guarded design ideas slowly came forward as the days progressed and most notably for me, more people than I'd ever seen before, came into the kitchen while I was cooking to draw up sketches and measure angles on detailed plans. A flurry of chair leg and spindle making ensued as the designers came to grips with the realities of using a shave horse, pole lathe, cleaving break and workshop hand tools for the first time. A lot of designers may be good at drawing up a concept, sketch or basic prototype, but not always used to making the finished article themselves. Nearly all would have experienced something new here.

A few of the group had large projects in terms of days available, in particular Gareth Neal with his Windsor style bench. Other designers had more hoops and steam bending than our usual courses require and Gudrun had at least 3 late nights in the workshop. Ohh, these demanding designers! These late night sessions involved amongst other activities, head torches on the lathe...is that really wise? I couldn't even see to eat my food most evenings.

Camping it up were Gareth Neal, William Warren and Carl Clerkin, until something happened in the wood mid-week (which I won't go into here) which meant Carl had to leave the woods in a hurry for a bath... It might have been the monsters, something in the wood shed perhaps, or foxy (our burning mascot) that spooked him. Needless to say, those not camping missed out on the rain, rain and more rain, stumbling around in the dark and sliding out of the woodland huts in the mornings trying to light a fire for a cuppa.

Carl Clerkin standing on his chairback. (http://www.carlclerkin.co.uk/)

Work progressed steadily throughout the week, but always with the looming sensation of the Sunday afternoon deadline. This was when the reporter from Crafts Magazine (read part 1 here) would return to see how things were going, a photographer to take 'finished' photographs and of course the removal van to take away the finished chairs for the Milan Furniture Fair, just next week. I'm really quite glad I didn't have any deadlines apart from the 11am tea break, and 1pm lunch to make.

A large part of being a designer as I have personally experienced is about hitting deadlines. Since doing less commercial design work myself and more making, I've found it really helps to allow some headspace in order to think about things a bit more. Having 2 or 3 more days at the start for the designers to absorb their surroundings, relax and play with the materials might have been quite beneficial for them. It might have meant they would have possibly tried different ways of working and created even more interesting work. None of them decided to do freeform work for example and work intuitively from the shapes found in the trees. I think they might have missed a trick here. All of the designers worked on the lathe, nothing wrong with that in itself, but, machined parts can be made virtually anywhere. Having a resource with infinite shapes and combinations such as can be found in the trees is what is really amazing about being a greenwood worker for me.

As it was they were really getting straight into the making...all the chairs were finished however, with Gareth working right up to the wire. Slightly odd having a photographer and reporter wandering around the workshop all day I thought. A peculiar young chap from London doing a Phd about 'amateur crafts' also turned up to see what we were doing too...'Amateur crafts' actually means hobbies to us lay people...we told him he was in the wrong place! He had misunderstood the term bodging and thought he was coming to see a course about how to 'make do and fix things together'. No, that's not what it's about. Anyway, here are some of the highs and lows of the week...

Me to Carl after 3 days on the pole lathe ... "Are you still scratching on that stick?"

Gareth day 5 happily rounding spindles, declares that he loves the tenon cutters. He then proceeds to snap off the end of his long stretcher after getting it stuck in the tenon cutter...Gudrun says, "you'll have to get back on the lathe"...Gareth with eyes bulging and hair fraying, yells (with wobbly voice), "I'm not going back on the lathe, I don't want to go back on the lathe" (insert a bit of jumping up and down here)... Gareth later declares that he no longer loves the tenon cutters.

Amos (despite not having many components) has so much to do on the last day it all seems a bit impossible. Looking like things are eventually coming together, he realises his chair seat is splitting down the middle. This piece was the best Herefordshire elm Gudrun had in stock too which was a very unnerving moment for her I think. The glue, syringe and straps came out. What a shame that was after Amos spent a whole evening shaping that seat.

In a mildly embarrasing alcohol induced moment at the Green Dragon pub I offer to show the group some bodgers dances we've made up at Clissett Wood previously...I will post diagrams of said dances on this blog eventually including the two button dance.

The 'Shhh shhh' not of the lathe but of the sandpaper can be heard throughout the workshop despite those designers being told it's not necessary. They are not oiling their seats either, despite being advised to do so in order to protect the end grain. Will that be a wise decision under the hot lights of Milan?

The campers on night one decide to cook pizza...the oven isn't hot enough and the pizza sits there sadly in the oven uncooked until the oven is relit for another hour and then wow, a very nice pizza with a crispy ash base after 10pm.

Carl to me after 4 days on the pole lathe ... "Are you still scratching on that stick?

Dave produces a predrilled seat mid week. I have to say this was a big cheat. We don't use electric tools at Clissett normally and he thought it was going to be too much like hard work. Booo!

Crys of "Bodgers....bodgers..." in a football chant kind of way can be heard ringing around the workshop from Carl thoughout the week.

Me to Chris on the last day ... "it's much better than your last chair".

Will, Gareth and myself wonder if Rory has been making hazel wands in his spare time?

Carl is a cheese and jam man...he cooks up halloumi cheese and fried eggs for breakfast. Yummy.

Finished group photo. More photos on view on the Clissett Wood facebook group. It was a pleasure to cook for you all this week!

STOP PRESS : Video footage of the week here.
(Never has so much sandpaper been used in greenwoodworking...hey designers...it's not necessary!)

And since then, the Crafts Magazine (May 2010 issue) article about the Designers week is available here.

Season 2010 begins..

2010-03-19T10:47:00.000Z

Anticipation is building now for a return to Clissett Wood after an almost 6 month break over winter. I find these 'in-between times' difficult because I'm not a woodland owner myself. I know I inject a vast amount of energy into Clissett as a volunteer cook and assistant to Gudrun over spring to autumn, but I feel rather dislocated from the full woodland cycle when these courses are not on. I know I should normally be doing a lot of coppicing or clearing work in the woods, and I'm not.

This winter I escaped to Italy, and spent 11 weeks in the Tuscan hills house-sitting. The hilltop I was living on was surrounded by woodland and oak valleys that have been abandoned by their owners. Nobody wants to manage them anymore. Ah, give it to me I say!

One day, I might get my own wood, and become the custodian of a slice of nature. After years and years of thinking about it, and being thwarted by the practicalities and expense of it, I don't know that I am any closer to this ever becoming a reality. So in the meantime, I'll enjoy all the things Clissett has to offer. (Picture from development week 2009)

Walden - Chapter 11 by Henry David Thoreau

2010-03-17T20:10:00.001Z

"No man ever followed his genius till it misled him...If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet scented herbs, is more elastic, more stary, more immortal, that is your success. All nature is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself. The greatest gains and values are farthest from being appreciated. We easily come to doubt if they exist. We soon forget them. They are the highest reality."

Download a Zip file of the entire audiobook – 412MB
This is a free Librivox audio recording read by Gordon Mackenzie.

Bodging Milano

2010-03-17T19:47:00.001Z

Shortly there will be 10 designers going back to nature at Clissett Wood...from 30th March to April 5th. With the help of Gudrun Leitz and her assistant Paul Moreton of Moreton Wood. Each will be making a greenwood chair in Gudrun’s outdoor workshop. They intend to get out of the studio, away from drawing boards, computer screens, and mechanised equipment into the hands-on world of the original country chair-makers working without electricity - with pole lathes, steam benders and hand tools. Then all the chairs get loaded up and taken over to the Furniture Fair in Milan which takes place 14th - 19th April 2010. The chairs will be exhibited with Designersblock at Spazio Revel, Milan.

The designers are,
Amos Marchant, Carl Clerkin, Chris Eckersley, Dave Green, Gareth Neal, Gitta Gschwendtner, Matthew Hilton, Rory Dodd, Suzanne Barnes, William Warren.

Are they going to work and live for a week in the woods of deepest Herefordshire at this time of year though - in this still very chilly weather..or will they be slipping back to the comfort of their well-designed B&B beds? I look forward to cooking for you all! Read more about their project here > Bodging-Milano

BBC Mastercrafts series with Monty Don - Green Wood Craft

2010-02-24T19:45:00.003Z

Monty Don, a huge fan of traditional crafts, presents a series which celebrates six of the craft skills that built Britain and its heritage, ranging from thatching to stonemasonry.
3 willing apprentices work with green wood for 6 weeks, learning how to cleave raw material, to turn billets on the pole lathe, and to manipulate the components fresh out of the steam bender. Then comes the final test - designing a chair and making it with no assistance. Can they pull it off and impress the judge Mike Abbott?

Click here to see BBC Mastercrafts - greenwood episode

Broadcast on:
BBC Two, 9:30pm Friday 12th February 2010
Duration: 60 minutes
Available until: 9:59pm Friday 26th March 2010

Sculpture - Childer Coppice I

2010-02-22T11:33:00.000Z

This is a small sculpture from a piece of coppiced hazel I picked up whilst doing some coppice work for Doug Joiner at Childer Wood, Herefordshire. Childer Wood is the base for Doug's Heavy Horse Logging business.
http://www.heavyhorses.net/Pages/horselogging.htm

The sculpture is about the size of a cantaloup melon. I loved the natural shape of the hazel and so wrapped and tacked the small hazel block with layers of naturally dyed handmade felt I'd designed to accentuate the swirls of the wood.

Urban Kluth teaches long lost methods of ancient tree care.

2010-02-12T19:36:00.003Z

Urban Kluth specializes in the care of ancient trees, especially fruit trees. He practices and teaches very old and now largely lost methods of tree care. These methods were widely practiced throughout Europe at one time.

The practices concentrate on establishing a very specific planting hole to create a micro climate for the tree to grow (originally done several years before a significant tree was planted). The care of the root system and the bark also ensures healthy growth and eventually longevity and sustained yield of fruit. Village communities often had one of these significant and valuable pear or apple trees, often planted in a symbiotic relationship with a grain such as wheat or rye.

With this method villages did not go hungry, the village as a community cared for its food resources and everybody was involved, as these methods are very labour intensive. A now esoteric but highly relevant 'transition' model? Fruit trees have been found to have thrived in Eastern Europe for 300 + years, in Sweden up to 600 years, and villages in Siberia have been self sufficient employing these methods.

Urban came over in February 2010 from Germany to induct a few people into these methods in Gudrun's old orchard. Many of her old fruit trees had collapsed and Urban was interested in preserving the healthier ones first. Urban will be coming over from Germany again in July 2010 for a week if anyone is interested in learning about these methods and gaining some hands on experience. Matt Hatter, Keane, myself with Urban's guidance have prepared some example trees for teaching later in the year.

Pic 1 shows preparation of the surface for the care of an old or damaged tree. Taking the any growing matter away from the base of the tree, cleaning the trunk area especially, adding sand to aid the drying out of the bottom of the trunk. Further work will be carried out later in the year.

Pic 2 and 3 show the digging of a new 2m x 2m x 2m planting hole. Once dug, this hole will be filled with large boulder stones at the bottom, graduating up to small stones at the top mixed with a lightened mixture of sand and clay. I suggested the use of a JCB for this job, but Urban explained that compacting the soil around the planting hole with heavy machinery was also detrimental. Most of the methods used so far have been extremely labour intensive for only a few people. I could understand why a whole community would need to be involved to look after such trees. More methods such as bark cleaning and pruning will be explored in July 2010.

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

2010-01-12T10:23:00.004Z

From Chapter 2.
'I went to the woods, because I wished to live deliberately. To front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach and not when I came to die discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life. Living is so dear, nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary.

I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. To live so sturdily and sparten-like as to put to route all that was not life. To cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner and reduce it to its lowest terms and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meaness of it, and publish it's meaness to the world. Or, if it were sublime to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. For most men it appears to me are in a strange uncertainty about it.'

Listen to this free Librivox audio book chapter 2, part 2 here (12MB Download)

Workshop antics

2009-08-26T21:07:00.003+01:00

Thanks to Martin for these early morning workshop photos (aka my night in shining amour for saving us from numerous pubs and helping me make my chair when it all got too much for me)

Mama Mia! Linda in her PJs, mamalade for breakfast...

Coronet Cuties!

Something in the woods - Aug 2009

2009-08-25T01:39:00.007+01:00

Ro on her new shave horse "Radish".

Steve with his new Shave Horse, Go Papa!

Max with his ash ladder back for his God son Alex.

Martin with his turned ash ladder back.

Jo with her Elm table.

Matt with his John Brown inspired welsh stick chair design in elm and ash.

Linda, oiling her Welsh Stick chair.

Liz with the completed bench for the Fisheye Web Design company.

Some of the group with their creations... more pictures to follow soon

Sketches at Clissett Wood workshop

2009-07-31T23:21:00.009+01:00

Clissett Wood Chair Making Course 9-15July

2009-07-15T23:21:00.002+01:00

Another good week of chair makers, two return students making more ambitious projects - one being a giant bar stool. A lovely group of blokes camped in the evenings despite the rain needing barbecues and beer. My Fisheye bench lined up with the bones for the fish spine to go across the back of the bench. I also made a small cherry ladder back with wych -elm bark seat, mostly built at home, but you can see me on the far right of the photo lineup.

8th July - Greenwood Weekend Intro

2009-07-08T23:04:00.005+01:00

Weekend intro to Greenwood working. Heather made the top of her bench from oak. Most other course members made a stool, either with turned legs on the pole lathe or freeform shaped legs. Matt, our new volunteer cook makes a third attempt at a stool after 2 mis-haps drilling the acute angles for his freeform stool. Whilst Rachel weaves wych-elm bark seat to her stool tutored by Paul Morton who supplies Wych Elm Bark for seating.

Sculptural Seating Course 23 - 28th June 09

2009-06-30T00:34:00.003+01:00

Lovely Linda with her garden seat, Mark with his 5 seater family bench, Hazel with her childs chair, and Pauline with her ash seat.

Handmade knife from John

2009-06-28T09:12:00.000+01:00

On Sunday, John gave me a knife he'd made for me overnight. My first knife, so this is pretty special. It has a 2.5" blade, a handstitced moulded leather sheath with drainage hole at the bottom and holly handle. It's not stainless steel so I've got to look after it he said. Thankyou John. In return I'm designing his leatherwork and metal stamps including an ash leaf and J, so watch this space.

The Fisheye Bench...seat in progress

2009-06-28T00:41:00.000+01:00

Finishing the oak seat for the Fisheye bench (Fisheye design company I do a lot of work with badly need a bench to sit on)...maybe this summer they'll finally get one.

View from Clissett Wood - June 26th 2009

2009-06-26T01:15:00.000+01:00

Garden & workshop in summer - late June 2009

2009-06-22T01:21:00.003+01:00

New handmade knife from John

2009-06-21T09:59:00.000+01:00

Sunday, John gave me a knife he made for me overnight, and it's my first knife, so that's pretty special. It's a holly handle, with moulded leather sheath, it's not stainless steel so I've got to look after it he said.

Eddie's Kitchen cabinets and worktop

2009-06-15T23:52:00.008+01:00

Clissett Wood 15th Anniversary Party (June 2009)

2009-06-08T00:50:00.001+01:00

The beautiful woodland kitchen, where everything revolves around enjoying good food..

Clissett Wood, sometimes the best place in the world for laughing, eating, drinking and making wonderful things!

View from Clissett Wood - June 7th 2009

2009-06-07T16:17:00.001+01:00

Simons Bridge - Spring 2009

2009-05-30T23:44:00.000+01:00

Welsh Stick Chair Making - May 2009

2009-05-20T23:11:00.001+01:00

Ro, Matt, Me (Liz), Jonathan, Richard making Welsh Stick chairs and freeform chairs on a 5 day workshop at Clissett Wood with Gudrun Leitz.

Ro with her new "wildform chair".

Ro's chair and my little chair (it's an apprentice piece ...and here it is finished and oiled....Ahhh

I also made some turned hair pins - as I've always got my hair up out of the way of the fire!

My willow sculpture Clissett Wood Spring 2009

2009-05-10T23:40:00.000+01:00

April 2009 - Shingling party at Clissett Wood

2009-04-16T08:00:00.001+01:00

Matt, Neil, Simon and Grenvil putting the final shingles on the new roof for a woodland hut.

Clissett Wood Course - Aug 2008

2008-08-25T00:59:00.001+01:00

Jenna is a BHMAT apprentice learning coppice crafts and came to Clissett Woods to learn about making furniture.

Thomas discusses his chair

Mark adding the rockers to his ash chair with bark seat

Will puts the final touches to his oak bench with padels, and our evenings entertainment playing with fire - more images here

Ash Ladder Back

2008-08-18T23:09:00.000+01:00

Made in August 2008, my first ash ladder back with rush seat in progress.

Wood Wool Sculptures

2008-07-10T22:52:00.003+01:00

Exploring shapes and textures occuring in nature.
(Ash wood, Jacobs wool felt)

A series of fire pictures from the woods

2008-06-24T23:03:00.001+01:00

click here

First Chair by Liz - June 2008

2008-06-18T22:52:00.000+01:00

Greenwood chair - oak seat, cherry side uprights, hazel centre panel ,
sweet chestnut top rail, Ash legs.

Greenwood bench in ash and beech

2008-06-18T00:35:00.000+01:00

Oak Gate Hurdle

2007-09-18T23:06:00.000+01:00

Made on the BHMAT September 2007 course in Cumbria with Owen Jones (Swill basket maker)

Oak stool from a log

2007-09-18T22:58:00.000+01:00

Oak Stool made in September 2007

Shave Horse

2007-06-18T23:01:00.000+01:00

Shave Horse built June 2007 (with Louis the cat)

The Pole Lathe

2007-04-16T22:56:00.000+01:00

The Pole Lathe built in April 2007

3 years of hedgelaying at Kennelwood, Nantwich

2005-11-30T02:41:00.004Z

Late November 2004 saw the beginning of my work at Kennelwood, which runs alongside the Nantwich Road near Combermere, North Shropshire/ South Cheshire.

Kennelwood is an organic site, growing and selling hay from their wildflower meadows. Richard Smith the owner of Kennelwood, asked me to start laying his 'new' 8 year old hedges, planted between 1995 and 1997. Approximately 2 miles of hedgerows surrounding the meadows were planted in wide double rows, 1 meter apart, using 18 species of native broadleaves and shrubs, a massive 26,000 hedging plants and trees in total. (Plant list at end of article.) The ideal habitat for all sorts of wildlife has been carefully developed along with some assistance from the Stewardship Scheme.

Hedgelaying in blocks of between 80 to 200 yards, and leaving the same length in between each block till the following year, allowed wildlife to take some shelter nearby, and stagger the regeneration work around the site.

Having done many Conservation Volunteer Holidays with the BTCV, and leading groups on residential hedgelaying weeks, I was up for the task, but still, nevertheless, a little daunted at the size of the job ahead. The unusual meter width gap between the two rows meant having to adapt the traditional West Midlands style or Bullock hedge into a double-sided A-shaped Midlands style, which seems to keep it's shape well, looks great from both sides, and still forms a rigid stock proof barrier.

The winter grazing sheep are not encouraged to nibble the hedge, however tasty it may be - post and rail fences are currently being put up to act as a wildlife corridor, and allow a wider variety of wild flowers to grow in the cover of the hedge.

This year will be the third year of hedgelaying at Kennelwood, and will mean all 1 mile of the new hedgerows will have been laid by February 2007. An acheivement which I am really proud of and proud to be part of such an ambitious scheme.

Species of Native Broadleaves and shrubs planted in new hedges at Kennelwood 1995/97.
Acer Campestre
Carpinus Betulus
Cornus Sanguinea
Corylus Avellana
* Crataegus Monogyna
Euonymus Europaeus
Malus Sylvestris
Prunus Avium
Prunus Cerasifera
Prunus Padus
* Prunus Spinosa
Rhamnus Frangula
Rosa Canina
Rosa Rugosa
Viburnum Lantana
Viburnum Opulus
Ilex Aquifolium
Lonicera Periclymenum
* 60% of planting