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 ‘Weight & See’ mirror by Katie Walker |
A
Feast of Wood Set
amongst the wooded hills of West Sussex, the Weald & Downland Open Air
Museum, with its rambling collection of ancient timber framed buildings,
provided a perfect venue to show off wood, our most versatile yet
renewable manufacturing material. The two-day event, held over the last
weekend in June, offered a relaxed and intimate opportunity to meet
designer-makers and to see diverse examples of wood use. This
was my first visit to the Woodshow (held every two years) and as a
promoter of local timber, I am delighted to have met so many makers
dedicated to utilising locally grown timber. Fine furniture was well
represented in the marquee, alongside timber merchants, turned products,
‘shaker’ boxes, tools, gift-ware and toys (including jigsaw making on
a 19th century peddle driven fret-saw). In
the field members of the Association of Pole Lathe Turners showed their
craft in action and an impressive range of entirely handmade products,
plus an intriguing variety of designs for the pole-lathes themselves.
Shingle and stick making, baskets, trugs, rakes, wood carving and yurt
construction were all demonstrated within the museum grounds. Up in the
woods steam bending, charcoal making, tree climbing and demonstration
coppice woodlands provided a real woodland context for the show.
The
oak gridshell workshop housed an exhibition by the Worshipful Company of
Furniture Makers at one end, whilst Joe Thomson ran a Timber Framing from
Scratch course at the other. These two events took place side by side and
admirably demonstrated the versatility of both the space provided by this
unique building and of timber as a manufacturing material. I particularly
enjoyed taking a rest on the huge deck at the entrance, entirely shaded by
the mature trees cloaking this end of the building.
The
strength of the Weald & Downland Woodshow is its focus on local wood
products and traditional low-impact skills. This is a village-fair scale
event, early in the summer season, complementing the many other wood
related events across the region and throughout the year.
Whilst the scale and focus of each event varies, all promote the
availability and environmental credibility of local timber products, which
in turn stimulates the demand for locally grown timber, an essential
economic factor for the future productivity of our woodlands. |
 Entirely wooden clock by David Bowerman |
 Cato Rocker by Tony Portus |
 replica 17th century oak coffer by Paul Pinnington (maker for the Globe Theatre, London);  woven wych elm bark seating by Mike Abbot |
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 ‘Bow Tie’ Rocker by Stephen Clear |
 19th century pedal fret-saw |
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 Hand-turned fruit-wood rattles by Mike Ashton |
 Shaker boxes by Barry Horton |
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The
Woodshow was held in conjunction with Woodland Heritage in their year of
partnership with the Museum. |
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