GreenWoodMan

a collection of david hunter's odd projects and random thoughts - or vice versa

[greenwoodman]

sacerdote

Working from a very hard section of yew, this piece took a long time and underwent several changes. Eventually, it was identified as a priest by a Spanish friend.

[greenwoodman]

revenant

manifesting as found wood (beech)

[greenwoodman]

granuiale

A beeched whale. A grainy whale. (Soundings of pirate chieftan Grace O’Malley.)

[greenwoodman]

Funky Gibbon

Originally to be titled ‘Boo!’, it became a gibbon. Ivy wood and plum.

[greenwoodman]

Cù-Sith

Rescued from the fire - cushy!

[greenwoodman]

using my head

Possibly destined to end up as just a pile of wood chips but, in the meantime, my go-to therapy. Originally a 50cm diameter log of unseasoned lime from the Edinburgh Botanics, he has been through many transformations but the spirit of the wood won through. A symbol of the constant process of becoming.

[greenwoodman]

simple things

Not everything requires major 'artistic' input. Tealight holders in beech.

[greenwoodman]

wedding dancers

Possibly a Tango in sycamore, to celebrate a wedding.

Congratulations Jennie & Teddy! Sycamour.

[greenwoodman]

kraken

Another sea creature in home-grown beech.

(or... to boldly go..)

[greenwoodman]

builders craic

...or the bottom of the trunk..

The spruce log was a present and the shape was irresistable.

[greenwoodman]

leviathan

Intended to be one of a pair (with kraken) leviathan was a flat-warming gift for my son-at-sea, constructed from home-grown beech.

[greenwoodman]

rosslyn font

The wood for this carving was found near Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian.

[greenwoodman]

zen and the art of art

Shaping wood with a mallet and chisel is very physical but, at times, can be very meditative. The early blocking out, in particular, involves effort and repetition, whilst being pretty mindless. Muscle activity with the smugness of potential creative achievement, leading to a zen glow.

The carving process itself is also partly mystical. Unlike the planned attrition of some other forms of sculpture, wood imposes a process of revelation. There is a sense that the form is already in the wood, the scuptor merely strips away the covering to discover it.

[greenwoodman]

support (in rowan)

Carved in rowan wood - from the garden - this was a gift to Rowan Alba, a care and support organisation.

[greenwoodman]

stretchdog

Stretchdog was a learning exercise. As it turned out, elm was not the easiest of woods to coax into shape. The grain was terrific. It flowed and twisted, lending itself to sinuous curves. But the wood was brittle and tended to splinter under chisels. In the end, it was mostly shaped with Japanese rasps.

[greenwoodman]

working it out

Getting started is always hard...

...so I usually work on several projects at once. I also include a lot of thinking time... and walking the dog... and research... and coffee... and thinking... Procrastination is just a way of keeping busy.