What is your relationship with wood? Can you enjoy and appreciate its curves and sinews? Ever marvelled at the knots or found yourself appreciating a well-carved object and wondering how wood is steamed into layers to bend?

If so, the new Craft NI exhibition at its Royal Avenue gallery is for you. Laminating and cutting techniques from a solid block are all featured in the  Craft NI ‘Curved with Intent’ exhibition of contemporary design  

VERSATILE: Hall shelf by Ronan Lowery
3Gallery

VERSATILE: Hall shelf by Ronan Lowery

The versatile material shines with five designer-makers. Monaghan-based David Cousley’s work is carved from solid wood — the smaller pieces using knives, and the larger crafted with a progression of tools from chainsaw, axe, and draw knife to spokeshaves, gouges and chisels. The Spaceship Ark, featuring all of Noah’s animals, may have been inspired by recent space travel and earths climate change but do you ever really know what artists are thinking?

Mark Hanvey specialises in turning unseasoned wood. His pieces are turned to a fine wall thickness and then left to dry to allow the natural tensions in the timber pull and contort to realise the final form.

His pith vessel piece retains and celebrates a part of the tree that is usually discarded but is vital to its growth. He shows some millimetre specific grafting methods in some of his contemporary pieces.  
 
Ronan Lowery’s work involves two kinds of laminating: the curved rail of the bench uses the lamination of thin strips of timber bent over a mould, and the curve of the hanging hall stand consists of a built-up and shaped sub structure which is then finished with veneer applied to the curved undersides. 
 
The primary constructional method which dominates Brian McKee’s work is the steam bending of timber. His work was recently included in the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s collection. This is achieved by heating unseasoned (or seasoned but re-wetted) timber to 100 degrees Celsius and bending it over a specially designed mould. This is possible because the adhesive material (lignin) which holds the fibers together softens temporarily at this temperature, enough to allow some movement of the fibers relative to one another, enabling the wood to bend.

 

John Piekaar uses two techniques in order to achieve wood curvature in his main piece — cutting from solid wood and progressively refining the shape as required — and laminated bending —  gluing together thin strips of timber and clamping them while bent over a mould. 
 

SHINING: Mark Hanvey's work is on show in new exhibition
3Gallery

SHINING: Mark Hanvey's work is on show in new exhibition

Each participating designer-maker speaks through their work to their own particular relationship with the material. It's not all about processes as their design and artistry, as with all Craft NI exhibitions, gets an opportunity to shine through. It’s really nice to see this material featured on its own with the contemporary twists that are emerging from the artform. The shapes they produce are more or less practically and/or aesthetically purposed and the exhibition is a must for wood-lovers everywhere. 'Curved with Intent' continues until 27 March at Craft NI gallery, 115-119 Royal Avenue, Belfast.

 
PADDLING YOUR OWN CANOE

If you have a connection to waterways (perhaps with the work that LORAG have been pioneering in the Lower Ormeau), you might want to consider sending a submission into the Waterway Festival. Art forms to be included are short story, poetry, photography and video. There are some online workshops available to inspire you until the end of February with selection for inclusion in the festival in March.