22 Oak and Hazel

Oak and Hazel Wood (winter waiting for spring) 2018
Bronze h42 x w29 x d31 cm

2017-2018 was when I started a Woodland Residency at White House Farm, Glemham, going regularly to draw in the three woodland areas: the Nutgrove, Back House Pond Covet and Rookyard belt.  In terms of flora and fauna, these three locations are very different.  As soon as you walk into each one, you can instantly recognise its individuality.  The seasons and weather patterns contribute to this changing atmosphere.

The residency began in February 2017, which meant that over the course of that year I saw the woods come alive with a spellbinding intensity.  A transformation from dormant brown, to vibrant greens.  From a relative silence, to a mix of sounds rather like an orchestra tuning up: birds’ song; insects buzzing; wind rustling or howling; rain pitter-pattering on the leaves, hail stones jumping; thunder rumbling and lightning flashing. All the while, different smells came and went.

I made four heads inspired by the trees and seasonal variation from all three woods. Head: Oak and Hazel Wood (winter waiting for spring) was inspired by the Nutgrove.  Here, there are a few large, characterful old oaks as well as many hazel trees, with their beautifully arching branches meeting overhead to give a church-like feel to the space and a green hue to the light.  The hazel has been coppiced in the past, leaving blunt cut ends to the branches.  In the winter, when the leaves have fallen, it’s possible to see right across the wood to the fields beyond.

It was late winter when I collected some twigs from one of the oaks.  I chose those with fat, sticky buds at the end of each twig.  With the hazel, I wanted to hint at the ancient practice of coppicing, and therefore collected twigs with cut ends.  Once transformed into bronze, these cut ends were polished up to a smooth, eye-catching bronze gold.

The twigs were manoeuvred into place around a central core, with extra strategically placed wax tube sections to direct the bronze into every part of the sculpture.  I enjoyed the fact that the oak and hazel twigs also acted as runners, taking the bronze along their own lengths and beyond.  Once cast, the additional bronze connections were then cut off at the metal working stage … unless it looked better to leave them in place, a decision I could take as I worked.

I was absolutely thrilled with the outcome.  The sculpture captured all the magic and atmosphere of the wood and there was clearly a face within the landscape, formed of the intersecting branches.