2023 : bancs I
GETTING STARTED ON DECORATED TRAIL BENCHES
In 2022-2023 I gradually built several benches destined for installation in public spaces in our village Bluffy. This was very much an experimental and learning process.
To start I gathered logs from fallen trees and scrap timber in our region and then designed an individual final form based on the potential of the material. The benches are made from a mixture of softwood and hardwood: pine, ash, chestnut and oak.
A specialisation of my approach is slicing the logs lengthwise with an oversized chainsaw, which allowed for the use of single large slabs for the bench seats. These large slabs were also ideal for integrating carved artwork.
The benches are designed to age well – over time the designs may fade and the wood will rot, but the thickness of the slabs and legs means that they will continue to be useful for well over 10 years.
Slicing a whole tree trunk into slabs with a chainsaw.
Bench 1. Pine. Router inlay. Installed in Bluffy in 2022.
Bench 2. Pine. Patinated copper and routered inlay design. Installed in Bluffy in 2023.
Bench 2 patinated copper detail.
Bench 3. Pine. Routered inlay design. Installed in Bluffy in 2023.
Bench 4. Chestnut - recoved from a farm fireplace. Enamel inserts. Installed in Bluffy in 2023.
