This exhibition will be at The Oxmarket Contemporary in Chichester from Tues 29th August – Sun 10th September (closed Mondays). Entry is free.
I am looking forward to exhibiting a number of pieces of furniture with the society of designer craftsmen.
Wonder’ – “A questioning of the why, how and what a viewer observes and reacts to in the exceptional creativity and craftsmanship of 39 artists, each selected to display inspirational, original work in textiles, ceramics, glass, wood, paper, silver and jewellery.”
Wonder. An Exhibition with the Society of Designer Craftsmen
I am looking forward to my work being exhibited at a number of shows and exhibitions throughout 2023 with further dates to be confirmed.
May 2023: Oxford Art Week. Henley-On-Thames May 3rd – 9th
Heritage and Hallmark at the Old Firestation
A range of beautiful boxes will be available during Oxford Art Week with Heritage and Hallmark at the Old fire station in Henley-On-Thames, including Jewellery, Cufflink, Occasional and Ring Boxes
June 2023: Handmade Oxford 16-18th June
I will be exhibiting a wide range of new pieces at Handmade Oxford 2023 at Waterperry Gardens, including new pieces of furniture, luxury Jewellery boxes, beautiful cufflink boxes, and a wide range of occasional boxes and ring boxes in a range of wonderful woods.
Throughout 2022 I was part of an exciting project and exhibition called “In a New Light” This Arts Council funded project explored three endangered crafts in north Devon and their revival. Here is a video about the project.
Set up by Edward Crumpton and Jess Pearson “In a New Light” brought together 3 skilled craftspeople from endangered crafts, to teach 3 artist or crafts people their skills. These new skills could then be incorporated into new works.
I was very lucky to work with heritage gilder and Verre-églomisé artist Danni Bradford who taught me the basics of water and oil gilding which i have incorporated into my new work.
The new unique piece of furniture I created was exhibited at Barnstaple museum as part of “In a New Light” until early 2023 alongside pieces by Hestery Berry and Edward Crumpton
I created a side table in American Walnut with a beaten gilded golden disc in the center. This unique heritage piece is the first piece in a new collection, please see the images below.
To find out more information regarding this piece or to commission a your own heritage piece, please contact Edward
The Golden Table, by Edward Wild
The Golden Table By Edward Wild showing the gilded topThe Golden Table By Edward Wild showing the gilded top of the table
To find out more information about this piece or to commission your own heritage piece, please contact Edward
A sunburst is a beautiful decorative technique used in furniture making. It is often used on table tops, cabinets or even jewellery boxes, and is created by arranging multiple small triangular pieces of wood in a radial pattern.
A sunburst by Edward Wild
Each triangular piece will extend outwards from a central point to resemble the rays of the sun. The grain and figuring of the wood can be used to create both dramatic and stunning effects in many different woods. In my work I tend to use 12, 24 or 32 triangles of veneer to create a single sunburst.
A Single triangle of veneer used in creating a sunburst
Why Veneer?
Cabinetmakers use veneer to create decorative work such as a sunburst, or marquetry or parquetry, because of the stability of veneer over solid wood. Solid wood can move on a daily basis with changes in humidity. On a particularly humid day, wood will take on moisture and expand, by up to 3%, and on a dry day, wood will lose moisture, shrinking, by up to 3%. This constant movement of solid wood may result in a sunburst pulling itself apart over time. In contrast, once a veneer is glued in place it will not move.
Multiple Leaves of Veneer
A veneer can also be a more sustainable and effective way of using rare, or highly figured woods. A single piece of beautiful wood can be sliced into many thin leaves of veneer at 0.6, 1, 1.5, or 2 mm thickness, meaning a small amount of wood can be used to cover a much larger area
Tools used for working with veneer
Creating a sunburst is a slow, precise technique requiring specialist tools, skill, precision and patience. Each triangle should meet in the center at a single point, with the pattern radiating out. The grain of the wood may be straight, figured or even burr, however the result is always dramatic and pleasing, weather used on a cabinet, table top or jewellery box.
Smoking, or fuming wood, as it is often known, is a technique used to darken and change the colour of woods which are rich in Tannins, such as Oak, Chestnut, Cherry, or Mahogany.
Natural and smoked burr Chestnut
The process of smoking / fuming involves exposing the wood to ammonia gas in a sealed chamber. The tannins in the wood react with the ammonia causing a chemical reaction which results in the wood darkening and changing colour. The effect can be really quite dramatic turning a light wood dark very quickly. Traditionally Oak used to be put into horse manure (rich in ammonia) to create a similar effect!
Once a wood which is rich in tannin has been smoked / fumed, it will retain the new colour.
I am delighted to be exhibiting a new unique piece of furniture as part of “In a New Light” at the Museum of Barnstaple from the 1st October 2022 – 18th February 2023.
This wonderful exhibition is inspired by endangered crafts and their revival through the creation of Modern Art and Craft, and includes work by Hestery Berry, Edward Crumpton and myself.
In a new light is an Arts Council funded project exploring endangered crafts in north Devon. Set up by Edward Crumpton and Jess Pearson this project brings together a skilled craftsperson in an endangered (locally endangered) craft who will teach another artist or crafts person so they can incorporate the skill into their own craft.
I have been very lucky to have been working with heritage gilder and Verre-églomisé artist Danni Bradford who has been teaching me the basics of water and oil gilding.
In a New Light: An Exhibition at Barnstaple Museum
I am delighted to be working with Heritage and Hallmark at 14 Market place Woodstock from the 13th August to the 8th September.
This fantastic pop up shop boasts a wealth of luxury jewelry, glass, ceramics and art, and this year I am delighted to be involved, showing a number of my recently finished jewelry, cuff-link and occasional boxes.
I am delighted to be involved in an amazing new project; “In a New Light”. This Arts Council funded project is looking into endangered crafts and has been set up by Jess Pearson with The north Devon maker series and Edward Crumpton. The project employs a skilled practitioner of an endangered/locally endangered craft, and has them teach an artists or craftsperson who will adopt that skill into their own practice, making the skill a little less endangered.
I am very lucky to be working with the fantastic heritage gilder and Verre-églomisé artist Danni Bradford who is starting to teach me the techniques of oil and water gilding. My first few sessions have been very informative, opening up a whole new range of possibilities which I am looking forward to working with over the coming months as I develop a new range of pieces with this new skill. The project will conclude in the autumn with an exhibition of works by the various craftspeople involved and a series of talks.
