| Notes |
This piece started from a desire
to show off yew to its best advantage. We have often thought that part of
yew's beauty lies in the sharp contrast between its heartwood and sapwood,
but unfortunately the normal expectation is for the poor woodworker to cut
off and burn the sapwood (which is usually perfectly sound). We also
believe that the organic origins of wood are to be celebrated rather than
disguised, so what better way than to show slices as they come from the
tree?
It took us a long time to find the right yew to do this
piece - good colour, an absence of splits and other defects, the right
widths, and the right degree of wane (or is it waneyness?). The waney
edges are undercut to form drawer handles.
The rest of the carcase is black walnut, which whilst
rich in colour, is a plainer foil for the yew. The eye is of course drawn
to the bold statement made by the drawer fronts, but the carcase contains
an number of subtleties to keep the interest going - the sides are tapered
from top to bottom and become gently concave towards the top, the jointing
is formed by little bog oak pegs forming a stitching effect, and the the
top has gentle scoops out of its horizontal plane which meet the concave
sides.
The drawers' dovetails are a must-see, and the scent of
cedar inside is very pronounced. |
