Hand carved wooden Corbel
Carved from Quebec or yellow pine this 32" high piece now forms part of the decora in a hotel bar.
When the owner of the Ancient mariners in Lynmouth came to me looking for a corbel a feature behind his bar it pricked my imagination. a bold statement piece with my family motto on it was the remit.
We talked through various options and designs, i visited the bar to see the setting and a vision was clear. the building was decked with all manner of maritime artifacts sculptures, bits and bobs.
A trip to the local timber reclamation yard was in order, hunting around i found a large bulk of yellow pine, sometimes known as Quebec pine. This once formed part of a huge roof truss in Barry flour mills. Barry south Wales being just across the water from Lynmouth, it all fitted together well.
The Flour mills were built in 1904 for Joseph Rank. at the time large square riggers were bringing the timber in from Canada
Hauling the bulk back to the workshop, i could feel there was a new project waiting inside that tired and weathered exterior. running my fingers over the rebate on the side, I was taken back to the man who carved it over a hundred years before. im sure the thought never crossed his mind of the kind of world we would be living in when his work would be inspected again.
I needed to now re-form the timber into a laminated block by doing this it would be stabilised against the rigours of modern bar environment, a process that allows any grain movement to balance out one piece against another. My pencil hovered over the bulk of timber glancing lines appear and over time a shape emerged to reveal itself. That is good for starters and roughing out began. confident that as I worked the form would emerge.
When my arms were tired from heaving the mallet I took a break to do some research. Studying profiles of acanthus leafs, flutes, floral designs, Grecian scrolls, shields and Oak leaves all elements of a heraldic theme.
Work progressed at a heady rate, but other work commitments pulled me away from this project at times. Allowing me the opportunity for reflection and reappraisal. I find it good practice to step away from a project sometimes taking a break can allow you to return with fresh eyes.
A shield and a moto. I feel privileged to have been given the chance to reproduce something so personal to a family. “ My Sword is my Licence” how fitting that was.
Sitting there complete on the bench the delicate job of ageing it so as it fitted in. The other artifacts in the bar were weathered and had built up a patina of time. An off cut aside was now used to test and sample. No two pieces of wood or two trees ever are the same they have personalities just like you or I.
They react different to the make up I apply. Out come the old favourites cold tea, coffee, vinegar and wire wool each diluted to the max then getting stronger, haste now could ruin everything.
Ageing dose not capture a finish in time it only sets you off further down the line. The patina will still build and light will have its effect.
Now finished it is mounted behind the bar in The Ancient mariners Lynmouth. Reborn as a nod to the sailors that brought that cargo across the Atlantic over 100 years ago.
