Flying Shavings

I am Richard Law working green wood from the woodlands of Yorkshire; currently Strid Wood at Bolton Abbey, near Skipton North Yorkshire.  My workshop is in tthe wood about 10 minutes walk upstream from the Cavendish Pavilion Cafe on the same side of the River Wharfe on the main track.   My tools and methods are traditional – axes, chisels, a pole lathe and shaving horse.

Working in the woodland, I create artifacts to give Strid Wood trees, and myself a longer life working in a craft thousands of years old.  My pieces emphasise the natural sinuousness of the indigenous hardwoods.  Close to nature, my work uses traditional construction methods.

When I work with the pole lathe or with the axe I am reminded that I am working in the way craftsmen have done for thousands of years. I begin a piece by selecting the wood from the trees I have felled, occasionally being able to select interesting timber I had previously allocated as firewood.  I know when a piece is done when it is good enough, perfection is never just around the corner, beauty is another matter.  When my work is going well I am filled with a sense of completion.  When people see my work I’d like them to smile.