Wood
Some of the most beautiful pieces use and enhance the natural grain or figure of wood. Wooden crafts include turned bowls and tableware, handmade furniture as well as carving and sculpture. Basketry also comes under this title, often made using willow and other natural fibres. Papermaking is also encompassed as it is most often made from wood pulp – while both techniques can also use other media.
Terms: With both hard and softwoods, the type of wood, and the way that it is cut will determine how the grain, or direction of the wood, is displayed. Carving can be done by hand, with chisels, or turning on a lathe. New computerized machinery permits cutting in more than one direction on a milling machine, previously hard to achieve. Inlays and fine surfaces may use a veneer, or thin surface of wood that is skillfully laminated to the face of a piece.
Look out for: Most wood has been well seasoned before any work is undertaken. Some makers use unseasoned wood to purposefully allow the cracks and seams to be part of the finished work. Cabinetmakers use hand-carved joints such as the dovetail joint. Unlike machine-made versions these should not need any glue or nails to hold them together. Occasionally a peg system is used to avoid the use of anything other than wood. Tanya Harrod’s definitive tome, The Crafts in Britain in the Twentieth Century, is a good place to read about the social context and recent history of craft.
Katy Bevan ©2006
clockwise from top left: Peter Archer, Jim Partridge, Gareth Neal, Julie Arkell