We are at Art in Action

I'm at art in action (19-22 July) with my son Jody who is a furniture maker based in Northumberland. Please come and visit us at our stand in the OneOak tent. See earlier posts about this special project and the Sylva website. 

Jody's daughter Maya sitting in a chair made by him

Father & son getting ready for Art in Action

The original planks used to make our Oneoak furniture pieces

Jody and I have been getting ready for Art in Action, making furniture from the wood of the 220-year old oak from Blenheim Palace. We will be demonstrating and co-exhibiting with other artists and crafts people as part of the OneOak project organised by the Sylva Foundation.

Jody's daughter Maya and some of the OneOak pieces made by Jody

One of the pieces I made was a large dining circular dining table. This photograph was made by Nick Gibbs of British Woodworking when he featured me in his magazine for the July/August edition this year.

Please visit Art in Action, 19 - 22 July 2012 (10-5.30) at Waterperry House, Near Wheatley, Oxford and come and say hello to us!

The Month of June

If May was the month for giving presentations (Buckinghamshire New University, Rycotewood Centre, Oxford and Rotary Club Henley-on-Thames) then June was the month for judging and presenting awards!

On 18 June I accompanied one of my clients to co- judge the Best in the Show at the National School of Furniture, (Rycotewood Furniture Centre), Oxford. This client annually awards a £1000 prize, called the Hellen Award in memory of his wife, as well as a few smaller monetary prizes given as encouragement. The students' range of work was very impressive so selecting a worthy winner was a bit of a struggle; fortunately we had  Joe Bray, the course leader, to give us some background information, which helped.

I have been helping Design and Technology GCSE pupils and their teacher Sean Murray at Langtree School, Woodcote with a design project to stimulate their understanding of design and sustainability issues. This project was inspired  by a donation from one of my clients, in memory of a loved one, who wanted school children to have an insight into the world of the designer- maker. Certificates of excellence and cash prizes were awarded to four pupils at the school Art and Design exhibition, Thursday 21st June. It was encouraging that the most outstanding pupil was a young woman, Sophie. There were also enough funds to buy some new equipment for the school, including a Festool "Domino" ( it makes tenon joints), sash cramps and various tools. The company Festool generously gave a 50% discount, worth £450, which made the purchase possible; this was thanks to Nick Gibbs, Editor of British Woodworking, who put in a good word.
I will be continuing my involvement with the School next year; I think I've learned more from the experience than the pupils! Teaching this subject, at this level, is very challenging; Sean does an excellent job against the odds.

Dedication of the New Choir Stalls

It's continuing to be a busy month and I have a backlog of news to add as time whizzes by. Highlight so far was the special choral Evensong service on Sunday 10 June in Dorchester Abbey to celebrate the conclusion of the John Piper and the Church exhibition and the dedication of the new Choir Stalls, designed and made by Philip Koomen Furniture. The preacher was Professor Lord Harries of Pentregarth, the former Bishop of Oxford. The Dorchester Abbey choir sang beautifully and the readings were all wonderfully appropriately chosen from the Old and New Testaments on the themes of Arts and Crafts.

Dorchester Abbey ~ Choral Evensong

 Conclusion of the exhibition

“John Piper and the Church”

and the

Dedication of the New Choir Stalls

Money raised for Workaid

One of our freelance colleagues donated the money he earned from working on the Dorchester Abbey new choir stalls to Workaid. This paid for a container of refurbished tools and equipment to be shipped to Africa.

Workaid tackles poverty by supplying disadvantaged people with the tools they need to acquire practical skills and become self supporting. Tools and equipment are collected from all over the UK, refurbished and sent to vocational training projects and self-help groups, mostly in East Africa and in the UK.

Donation to Sylva organisation

At our recent workshop exhibition Dr Gabriel Hemery from the Sylva Foundation based in Little Wittenham gave a talk on the OneOak Project. One of our visitors subsequently was able to donate £5000 from his charitable organisation to Sylva (more details will follow soon on this blog, no doubt) - very exciting!

Eden Project Fundraiser

Recently, we donated our “Hay” coffee table in English walnut and oak for the Big Green Quiz auction (May 10), which was held for the eden project and Southbank Centre Roof Garden and associated education and training programmes. The project created a new urban green space on the roof of the Queen Elizabeth II Hall as part of the Festival of Britain’s 60^th anniversary celebrations. The initiative brought together groups of vulnerable people including the homeless, ex-offenders and addicts to transform a concrete roof space into a fabulous summer garden on the Thames. This garden is now open for this year, so please if you are passing do visit.

We were most pleased that the table raised as much as it would have cost to buy from us (£1500).