Rowan Stickland
Way Post
Oak, Black Wax and Quartz
Three Things
Cleft Oak and Recycled Iron
Spalted Thorn
Spalted Hornbeam
Mother Thorn
Spalted Hornbeam, Black Wax and Quartz
Birch Lens
Spalted Birch, Crystal Glass, Black Wax and Recycled Iron
Birch Groove
Spalted Birch, Black Wax and Recycled Iron
Spalted Hornbeam Throne
Spalted Hornbeam, Oak, Leather, Copper and Recycled Iron
My work has become an exploration into the sensitive and synergistic relationship between a craftsman and his craft, an artist and his medium. I am in the process of rediscovering the effective use of a range of ancient hand tools, construction techniques and natural finishing methods, with wood being my medium of choice as well as my inspiration. I use axes almost exclusively from the felling and rough hewing stage right through to the final finishing marks. I find the depth and physical history it imparts to the piece vital in bringing it to life and I also like the way I can 'read' the piece and other sculptors work made in a similar way to reveal how it emerged. Probably the main reason I use axes and other edged tools is the sheer pleasure you can gain from their use. Each tool has its own technique and rhythm and once you find it, and with the right piece of wood, the sculpting flows seamlessly, you think the form and your hand reveals it. It is meditative and trance inducing, the movements calm and purposeful without the incessant whine of powered tools, you find yourself not having to think about what you are doing, you just watch the piece appear before you.
