Steve Tomlin Crafts

Simplicity

Posted on February 5, 2011 by stevetomlin

On the Association of Pole-lathe Turner’s forum there’s a thread where people can post pictures of spoons they’ve carved. Over the past 3 or 4 years, spooncarving seems to have exploded as a pastime which is a very good thing and this thread is becoming a rich resource. Every now and then I put up a photo to try and highlight something I’m interested in or that I hope might inspire. A year or so ago it was photos of batches of spoons and then big spoons/ ladles.
Last week I decided to put up a picture of this simple beech spoon. It’s about 20 cm long and designed as a spoon for stirring and cooking with a wide shallow bowl. Partly I chose it for the forum to highlight the beauty of beech, which often has a reputation as being a boring timber but also as a classic Swedish style spoon – the design is based on shapes I saw in the classic book ‘Swedish Carving Techniques’ by Wille Sundqvist.
The picture got some nice comments but the real interest came when I replied that ‘I was trying to get back to simplicity’. Robin Wood picked up on this and wrote a post for his greenwood carving blog with a list of inspirational quotes on the theme of simplicity. That in turn has reached more people who’ve commented on their own search for simplicity.
In my making I’m constantly thinking about simplicity; keeping the lines of a piece clean and clear, everything balanced and no more wood than is necessary – searching for the ‘essence’ of a spoon, if you will (or bowl, chair or whatever). The Shaker society of America who said “The chair is the decoration” is a big inspiration for me in this.
There’s a second story to this spoon which makes it extra special for me. I’d had a few disappointing shows, was low on cash (that’s not uncommon when you’re a maker) and was questioning my making. A friend suggested I carve a spoon for them with instructions to think of them and enjoy every moment while doing it. The result speaks for itself and now Christiane has the spoon in her kitchen where it gets regular use. It was a wonderful lesson for me and one I’ll continue to use while making some more of this simple spoon.

“All work is empty save when there is love, for work is love made visible.” Kahlil Gibran

Posted in spoon carving, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged greenwood, hand carved, handmade, spoon | Leave a comment

Call your MP

Posted on February 2, 2011 by stevetomlin

I’ve been following the story of the forest sell-off, building up information from campaign sites, news stories and blogs like this one from my friend Mark Allery, another woodland worker. Today, as MPs were debating and voting on the governments plans to sell off our forests I checked the 38 degrees blog for the latest news. Their advice – call your MP. Having not had a reply to my email to Rory Stewart I decided that this would be a good opportunity to contact him directly. The 38 degrees site helpfully gave me Mr Stewart’s no and I spoke to a very well meaning member of his office who was, quite frankly, no help at all except in giving me the phone no for the constituency office here in Penrith and the Border. I am pleased to say that later in the day Mr Stewart did call back and we had a very interesting discussion.
I’d love to say that my fears were soothed and I can count on my MP to oppose the sell-off but that was not my impression. Grizedale, as a ‘heritage forest’ would be protected by handing it over to a charity such as the National Trust but the fate of the other 30 he wouldn’t be drawn on which presumably means the worst.
He did in the end agree that the government’s handling of this has been “shambolic”, that he ought to meet with Save Lakeland’s Forests to discuss the individual forests in question and that the website omission would be addressed.
Now, I realise that I probably haven’t changed Mr Stewart’s stance and I can accept that to some extent I was simply fed an official line but nonetheless, for me this was an important event. I feel strongly about something the government of the day is up to, that’s happened before. This time though I did something about it, I called up my MP. That he called back was a shock, that he will be taking some actions as a result of talking to me is nothing short of a revelation. If you’re sitting at home, as angry and disappointed with the people running the country as I am and their handling of (insert policy here) then take action, pick up your phone and tell them.

Posted in SteveTomlinCrafts, Uncategorized | Tagged 38 degrees, Forest, rory stewart, sell-off | Leave a comment

SABI – what's in a name?

Posted on February 2, 2011 by stevetomlin

It must be the same as when you’re naming your kids and wondering how it’ll be turned into nicknames. After the Scythe Association (Britain & Ireland) was created, a few of us started to wonder that the acronym wouldn’t turn out to be some kind obscenity in another language. You can decide for yourself which of the following fits us best.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Sabi can refer to:

A member of an extinct religious group known as the Sabians
Often used to refer to the Mandeans, an extant religious group, in Arabic
Sabi (Korea), an ancient capital of Baekje
Sabi (dog), an Australian special forces dog
Sabi River, in Africa (Save River (Africa))
Wabi-sabi, a Japanese aesthetic term which nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.

Posted in Scythe Association, Scytherspace | Tagged scythe association | 1 Comment

Grizedale 'Save Lakeland's Forests' Rally

Posted on January 30, 2011 by stevetomlin

Today I stood in the cold with hundreds of others to show my concern over the government’s plan to sell off our nationally-owned forests.
The lively crowd was made up of a broad cross-section of society and it was great to see how many mountain bikers had interrupted their ride to cycle over and show their support.
Tim Farron (Lib Dem, Westmorland and Lonsdale) and John Woodcock (Labour, Barrow and Furness) both promised their support before symbolically tearing up a copy of the Government’s Public Bodies Reform bill. I can only assume my own MP, Rory Stewart (Conservative, Penrith and the Borders) was busy cooking sunday dinner. I will be writing to let him know he was missed.
No campaign is complete without a celebrity spokesperson. Unfortunately our chosen man, tv-and-radio’s Stuart Maconie, was away – ironically, recording a show for radio 4 celebrating the British countryside. Nevertheless, as a well-known keen walker he sent a rousing letter of support and spoke of his fears of a loss of access to the land which would contradict the recent Countryside and Rights of Way Act. He finished with a quote from G. K. Chesterton’s ‘The Secret People’

But we are the people of England; and we have not spoken yet.
Smile at us, pay us, pass us. But do not quite forget.

Let’s hope someone’s listening now we have spoken.

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Wensleydale Header

Posted on January 25, 2011 by stevetomlin

Scytherspace has a new header! I’ve been looking for ages for a picture to replace the generic one supplied by wordpress and put in a request during the Scythe Association meeting. My search had taken me through the pages of Hay in Art which is well worth a look through and provided some wonderful photos for use another day.
The pic above is from Richard Brown who writes:

..taken in a SSSI hay meadow off Wensleydale where I collect seeds each year and take my scythe for a trip out to mow a 5 x 5m of Dales grassland (lovely grass).

Thanks Richard.

Posted in Scytherspace, Uncategorized | Tagged scythe, wensleydale | Leave a comment

The Scythe Association is born

Posted on January 17, 2011 by stevetomlin

At the weekend 11 of us gathered in Oxford to discuss setting up an association to represent and further the use of the scythe in Britain & Ireland. The idea has been around since last summer when Simon Fairlie, who runs the Scythe Shop, suggested there is huge scope for more people to be mowing than at present.
After 5 hours of productive work the Scythe Association (of Britain and Ireland) was born with the aims to represent and promote the use of the scythe and communiction between mowers, land owners and other interested parties. Initially, a website is planned to provided information on the scythe, training courses and the events and festivals around the country.
It was an invigorating weekend bringing back memories of the summer past and excitement for the season to come, just what is needed during the winter when the warmth of the sun seems at times a long way off. I’m proud to say I was there, now begins the work of turning it into a reality.
With diverse backgrounds and interests we represented an interesting group and the discussion flowed freely covering topics from scythe use and manufacture to thatching, beekeeping, Captain Swing (more about him another time) and arctic exploration. Included in this was a sampling of blueberries preserved in polar bear oil – not for the faint-hearted!

Posted in Scythe Association, Scytherspace | Tagged association, scythe | Leave a comment

Willow bow for harvesting cereals

Posted on January 12, 2011 by stevetomlin

To follow up from Chris’ post here’s a couple of photos I took last autumn which really show the benefits of using a bow when cutting cereals. These were taken during our demonstration at Old Hall Farm in Cumbria. My bow, based on old photographs, is in two planes curving up along the snath and then over the blade. The height of the bow in relation to the crop is crucial and it takes some time to master but the photos show how effective it is in rowing up the stems.

without the bow - what a mess!

with the bow - ready to be sheaved

In Norfolk, the reed cutters made a willow bow or ‘boyle’ in one plane with a ‘pricker’ added which catches the stems. You can see it in this film of Eric Edwards (see 2:40 for the scythe, bow and pricker) who adds “Whatever you cut with the scythe, it cuts very very clean; a lovely precision thing really to use.”

Posted in cereals, Scytherspace, tools | Tagged bow, cereal, scythe, wheat | Leave a comment

Perfecting reed-cutting techniques in Norfolk

Posted on January 8, 2011 by stevetomlin

In mid-December a few of us met to continue trials cutting reed with an Austrian scythe, and to help with the management of a local nature reserve. This was generously hosted by Richard Brown, who has a house just yards from The Saltings, a small nature reserve which he has been involved with on behalf of Heacham Parish Council.
Last year Richard and Simon Damant added a simple willow bow to the snath and timed the cutting of 25 square metres of reed bed at 3’45”. The bow was based on the traditional Norfolk bow, and similar of course to that used to harvest cereal crops. However Richard fitted an angle bracket into the ring clamp, which made the bow easy to lash to, and stay rigid in use.
Gemma Suggitt and I joined the team this year to help perfect the setup. Inspiration comes from Eric Edwards, legendary marshman at How Hill in Norfolk. I first met Eric in 1988 and tried, with little success at that time, to cut reed with his English scythe fitted with a bow, or ‘boyle’ as he called it. There is a recent YouTube video (search for ‘Eric Edwards reed cutter’) of Eric describing, amongst other marshman’s tools, the scythe with boyle, and a ‘pricker’ attached to the boyle to help gather the reed in bundles.
Richard realised that the way to attach this pricker is to make a split in the bow, into which the sharpened peg is inserted. Lashing with string holds the pricker and split bow secure. The junction of the upper nib and the snath acts as a lashing point, where the square section of the wood makes it very firm. On a home-made straight eastern European snath, lashing at this point interferes with the grip. A hole drilled through the snath a few inches below to receive the lashing cord keeps it out of the way, and this setup worked just as well as the manufactured snath.
In Richard’s film you can see how well the pricker holds a handful of cut reed upright throughout the mowing stroke. As with mowing cereals it is important to keep the reed ordered if it is going to be bundled and used. Even if it is not to be used it helps with the gathering process. It remains to be seen whether a suitably placed pricker would work also on a cereal crop.

Posted in cereals, Scytherspace | Tagged bow, Eric Edwards, pricker, reed, video | Leave a comment

Garden Sculpture

Posted on December 11, 2010 by stevetomlin

Another week of steam bending and finishing for a wooden sculpture which has been commissioned for a private garden in London. Working with Charlie Whinney, six lengths of high-quality ash board have been curled and twisted into an organic ribbon which swoops in and out of a wall. The bending process is an exciting time; watching and maintaining water levels in steamers, wrestling the wood into shape against it’s natural tension and grabbing yet another clamp or screw to hold it in place. While we were working Nick and Cathy Stanley, from Witherslack Estate where the workshop is based, called in with their family and were treated to an impromptu display of this performance.
All went well which is due to a combination of careful planning, experience of working with the material and an understanding of what is possible. Then comes the much longer process of dealing with any splits, carving wedges to support the ends and give the impression of the wood diving into the wall, and of course sanding and finishing the piece.
We’ll be going down to install the piece in the new year and get chance to see it in situ.

Posted in SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged ash, sculpture, steam bending | Leave a comment