I quite often get asked to comment on wooden bowls from excavations and for me it is very special to see, the work of turners from centuries ago who were using exactly the same tools and techniques as I use today. To see the toolmarks gives a direct connection to a craftsperson working 1000 years ago in a very tangible…
Whilst everyone else was glued to their TVs watching the royal wedding I was hosting some Japanese woodwork tourists. These were representatives of the Japan Green Woodwork Association and they wanted to see my workshop and learn a little about bowlturning. We only had 3 hours at the workshop but they all had a go on the lathe, I forged…
The Heritage Crafts Association have been working with Government to highlight some of the issues facing craftspeople in the UK. The Skills minister John Hayes and his officials have been very receptive. HCA have now organised a craft skills forum where craftspeople of all different disciplines can come together to discuss issues facing the sector and feed directly into the…
How often do folk who choose to use hand tools hear this? The implication of course is that there is now a newer, better, faster way and that I am doing it “the old way” just to show how it was done. There is a common misconception about technologies in the Western world, we think that new technologies replace older…
Good sharp tools are essential for woodworkers and learning to take a blunt piece of metal and get it to razor sharp is a very empowering experience. There is often a lot of mystery involved but there should not be, sharpening is simple and it all hangs on proper understanding and learning of basic techniques.In my experience most woodworkers study…
Sir Christopher Frayling was chair of the Arts Council from 2004-9 but before that stint he was chair of the Crafts Study Centre for over 20 years. He has just published a new book “On Craftsmanship” I have ordered it and await eagerly. This is a speech he gave at the Crafts Study Centre 7 May 2009 “I was…
Very nice article on heritage crafts in the current issue of Permaculture Magazine by Beth Tilston. Click on the images and hopefully they will appear large enough to read.
The way craft skills are passed on has changed dramatically over the last 100 years. As with much of education the focus seems to me to have moved from knowledgeable teachers deciding what is good for the students whether they like it or not to the students being customers who get to do what they enjoy most or what is…
I thought I would share some inspirational pictures of wooden spoons. These are my favourites from the kitchens at the Swedish national folk craft school Saterglantan. This one (above and below) is by Wille Sundqvist After picking out my favourites to photograph I found they nearly all had the same makers mark, at a glance it looks like a fish…
A nice review of my foundation spooncarving course in this months Bushcraft Magazine. Paul who did the review has been carving and teaching for some time but still enjoyed it and learned some new things. Hopefully if you click on this image it will enlarge big enough to read. When I started I wondered whether it was a good idea…
