Following a year of experimentation with exceptionally fragile 875,000 year old wood, I've completed two new works for the Extinction Collection. Now part of a touring exhibition, this special collection highlights climate change through time - with artworks offered for sale in support of the conservation charity Explorers Against Extinction.
Half a million years before homosapiens, this tree was growing somewhere near the beach of what we now call Happisburgh. It's been a privilege and a challenge working with this ancient and beyond vulnerable wood, taking us down the rabbit hole of many new experiments.
"Pine Studies #1 and #2 are two explorations in material hybridity and self-repair distinct to the pine tree. The dual works address the possibility and permanence of both life and sculpture through a form that echoes some of the earliest vessels known to our hominid ancestors."
Extinction Collection Artists: Daniel Beltrá, Bigert & Bergström, Richard Deacon, Jon Foreman, Andy Goldsworthy, Beverly Joubert, Michael Kenna, Eleanor Lakelin, Richard Mosse, David Nash, Michael Pinsky, Peter Randall-Page, Sebastião Salgado, Conrad Shawcross, Julian Stair, Emily Young
Dundas Street Gallery: until 19 October 2024
OXO Gallery: 31 October - 17 November 2024
Eleanor Lakelin - Fitzbrien Studio from Sarah Myerscough on Vimeo.
Eleanor Lakelin's Intimations - From Edd Carr from Sarah Myerscough on Vimeo.
Last year KALPA Gallery invited me to visit Volterra and to bring my work into dialogue with artefacts from the Etruscan Museum Guarnacci's collection. I'm currently developing new pieces for this project, which will mark the third chapter of their Timeless Encounters series, exploring Etruscan and Contemporary Art. The exhibition opens on the 10th of July at the Palazzo dei Priori.
I was delighted to be invited to participate in a documented studio exchange with the London based artist, ceramicist and fellow LOEWE Craft Prize finalist (2019) Akiko Hirai.
The exchange is part of a film by LOEWE, released on 8 March to celebrate International Women's Day.
"This International Women’s Day, LOEWE is shining a light on the extraordinary skill and innovation of craftswomen around the world. Ceramicist and 2019 Craft Prize finalist Akiko Hirai meets wood sculptor and 2022 finalist Eleanor Lakelin. Touring each other’s London studios, they explore the parallels between their approach to material, form, and inspiration from nature."
Thrilled to have been invited to create an artwork for The Extinction Collection for Explorers Against Extinction Participating artists announced to date also include Richard Deacon CBE, Emily Young FRBS, Peter Randall Page RA, Andy Goldsworthy OBE, Michael Pinsky, David Nash OBE RA and Julian Stair OBE.
This collection will feature a number of artworks incorporating fossils, artefacts and ancient wood found at Happisburgh, Norfolk. Happisburgh is the site of the earliest known human occupation in the UK, dating back 900,000 years. It will be the first UK community lost to ocean rise. The collection seeks to represent extinct species and tell the story of historic climate change. Other pieces will shine a light on today’s endangered species, threatened by anthropogenic (man-made) climate change.
The Extinction Collection will be exhibited in 2024.
Photograph by Paul Goldstein courtesy of Explorers Against Extinction
I've recently returned from New York for the opening of Craft Front & Center at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD). My newly acquired Column Vessel I/22 is showcased in this ongoing exhibition of MAD’s growing permanent collection of over 3,500 objects.
Craft Front & Center features a fresh installation of more than 60 historic works and new acquisitions dating from the golden age of the American Craft movement to the present day. Organized into themes of material transformation, dismantling heirarchies, contemplation, identity, and sustainability, the exhibition illuminates how the expansive field of craft has broadened definitions of art.
I'm thrilled to announce the acquisition of Column Vessel I/22 by the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York as part of their extraordinary permanent collection.
"I’ve loved Eleanor’s work since I first saw it years ago in Miami, but this latest collection feels like a fresh departure into an expansive new territory. This particular institution has the very best examples of turned wood, and woodwork more generally from all the masters— Blunk, Nakashima, Esherick, Maloof, Castle, Prestini, Stocksdale… and look at that. A list of men. This is truly an important acquisition."
— Christian A. Larsen, Windgate Research Curator, Museum of Arts and Design, New York
This new work was made from the remaining Burr from the Horse Chestnut felled near Reading Gaol, where Oscar Wilde spent his time in jail. The piece will be on view at MAD in 2023, where it will be shown with an accompanying film following the creative process - from felled wood to final installation.
My sincere thanks to Sarah Myerscough Gallery, Christian A. Larsen and all involved at MAD for making this possible.
I'm delighted that 'Column Series: Pillar I/ 2021' has been selected as one of sixteen sculptural works to be exhibited throughout Masterpiece Fair this year.
"Our 2022 Sculpture Series, curated by Melanie Vandenbrouck, Curator of Sculpture at the V&A, showcases dynamic works from across history throughout the Fair... Exploring the multifaceted languages of modern and contemporary sculpture, this selection considers innovative investigations of form and matter..."
Sculpture Series
1. Robert Indiana, ONE through ZERO (Cor-ten steel), 1978 - 2003 (Exhibited by Waddington Custot)
2. David Annesley, Untitled, 1969 (Exhibited by Waddington Custot)
3. Patrick Hurst, We Are Water, 2022 (Exhibited by Long-Sharp Gallery)
4. Zak Ové, Invisible Man, 2016 (Exhibited by VIGO Gallery)
5. Bernar Venet, 222.5 Arc x4, 2001 (Exhibited by Vertes)
6. William Turnbull, Female (1990), 1990 (Exhibited by Offer Waterman)
7. Andrew Miller, Ava Grace, 2020 (Exhibited by Ingleby)
7. Andrew Miller, Ella Rose, 2021 (Exhibited by Ingleby)
7. Andrew Miller, Mary Kate, 2022 (Exhibited by Ingleby)
8. Joseph Bernard, The Water Carrier, 1910 (Exhibited by Sladmore)
9. William Turnbull, Head (1957), 1957 (Exhibited by Offer Waterman)
10. Emily Young, Freestone Angel, c.1999 (Exhibited by Bowman Sculpture)
11. Marie Watt, Skywalker/Skyscraper (London Tower), 2022 (Exhibited by Marc Straus)
12. Barry Flanagan, Six Foot Leaping Hare on Steel Pyramid, 1990 (Exhibited by Waddington Custot)
13. Cathie Pilkington, Dachshund, 2009 (Exhibited by Marlborough)
13. Cathie Pilkington, Dick, 2009 (Exhibited by Marlborough)
13. Cathie Pilkington, Elsie, 2009 (Exhibited by Marlborough)
14. Angela Palmer, The Last Frontier, 2021 (Exhibited by Pangolin London)
15. Lynn Chadwick, Walking Woman, 1984 (Exhibited by Osborne Samuel)
16. Eleanor Lakelin, Column Series: Pillar I, 2021 (Exhibited by Sarah Myerscough Gallery)
I'm thrilled (and somewhat overwhelmed) to announce that The Landscape of Memory has been selected as Finalist for the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize 2022. The Landscape of Memory is a particularly personal piece, which draws on my deep-rooted connection to the valleys of Mid-Wales. Created from turned and hollowed-out British Sequoia, this vessel has been sandblasted and carved off the lathe. Sequoia is tannin-rich so I make and use iron solution like a painter’s palette to evoke the light moving across the hillside and the iron-stained rocks and streams of the Mawddach valley.
The Panel of Experts selected 30 finalist works from over 3100 works - submitted from 116 countries. The pieces will be included in an exhibition at the Seoul Museum of Craft Art, South Korea running from 1 - 31st July. The overall winner will be announced by the Jury on 30th June.
‘The Landscape of Memory’
British Sequoia, 2021
430 x 430 x 290 mm
Photograph by Michael Harvey
The full list of finalists:
Annika Jarring (Sweden)
Awaré (France)
Beate Leonards (Germany)
Blast Studio (United Kingdom)
Tanabe Chikuunsai IV (Japan)
Dahye Jeong (Republic of Korea)
David Clarke (United Kingdom)
Domingos Tótora (Brazil)
Eleanor Lakelin (United Kingdom)
Fernando Casasempere (Chile)
Fredrik Nielsen (Sweden)
Junsu Kim (Republic of Korea)
Julia Obermaier (Germany)
Kate Malone (United Kingdom)
Konrad Koppold (Germany)
Lu Bin (China)
Madoda Fani (South Africa)
Marianne Huotari (Finland)
Mayumi Onagi (Japan)
Mel Douglas (Australia)
Minwook Kim (Republic of Korea)
Myungtaek Jung (Republic of Korea)
Pao Hui Kao (Taiwan)
Peter T. McCarthy (Cote d’Ivoire)
Sangwook Huh (Republic of Korea)
Soyun Jung (Republic of Korea)
Trinidad Contreras (Spain)
Vera Siemund (Germany)
Yongjin Chung (Republic of Korea)
Filming for the BBC 2 Secrets of the Museum series took place in between lockdowns - documenting the V&A's acquisition and installation of Echoes of Amphora Column Vessel I/20.
The new series aired last night and all episodes are now on BBC i-Player. I make my first appearance in Series 2 Episode 4 - to be broadcast on 10 August.
Eleanor Lakelin in conversation with Corinne Julius from Sarah Myerscough Gallery on Vimeo.
Crafted Conversations: Eleanor Lakelin & Sarah Myerscough. UnEarthed. from Sarah Myerscough Gallery on Vimeo.
Artist to Watch: Eleanor Lakelin from Contemporary Art Society on Vimeo.
Exploring Working at a Larger Scale
I was delighted to be awarded a QEST Scholarship in Autumn 2018 and to become a Turners’ Company Scholar. I applied for a grant in order to develop my understanding of working at a larger scale. I wanted to develop a new formal and technical language and to extend and challenge the limits of my practice. I hope that by developing my skills and continuing to push the boundaries of what is possible through turning and carving wood I can contribute positively to my area of craft.
The scholarship is split into two parts. The first part involved travelling to the United States of America to gather information and develop my thinking. I approached several sculptors using wood as their primary material to arrange visits and a short residency in order to see the implications in both practical and conceptual terms of working at scale. I was invited to visit the sculptor Ursula von Rydingsvard in her studio in Brooklyn, New York City and also to spend five days working with Mark Lindquist at Lindquist Studios in Quincy, Florida.
I left for New York on Wednesday 7th November in order to arrive in time for the Private View of the Salon of Art and Design at the Park Avenue Armoury on the Thursday evening as Sarah Myerscough Gallery was showing pieces from my new series of work. In my four days I made use of every hour visiting the Museum of Craft & Design, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MOMA, the Donald Judd Foundation studio and the Isamu Noguchi Foundation. The highlight of this part of the trip being a mention and picture of my work in the New York Times and an afternoon spent at the studio of Ursula von Rydingsvard looking at the implications of working at monumental scale. Her globally-recognised sculpture in cedar was awe-inspiring up close and her generosity in allowing me to visit and understand a little more of how her work is developed was unforgettable.
Monday 12th November saw me on a dawn flight to Tallahassee, Florida via North Carolina to spend the rest of the week at the Lindquist Studios in Quincy. In the 1970’s, Mark, building on the success of his father Mel Lindquist, (one of the founders of the American Studio Woodturning Movement) successfully helped to transform the wood-turning field, revolutionising not only how work was displayed and sold but what it could be. It was therefore an immense privilege to have been invited to stay with and work alongside Mark and Kathy Lindquist for a week in their studio, a mammoth converted tobacco factory deep in the countryside outside Tallahassee. Mark was enormously generous with his time, knowledge and experience and the residency was all I had hoped it would be. We had time to discuss how Mark’s work fitted into the history of sculpture in the US and to look in detail at monumental pieces in situ in his studio gallery and at the museum in Quincy. We discussed at length the logistics of moving material at a grand scale and the implications of making work informed by architectural relationships and human scale. I worked with him in a studio that had seen Mel Lindquist, Gary Stevens, Dale Nish and other icons of American wood art through its doors and it was an experience that I will never forget.
The second part of the Scholarship is the chance to attend classes in sculpture at the Art Academy, London for one day a week for six terms starting in January 2019. This will allow me to experiment with materials and methods in a wide range of sculptural disciplines- from specific skills development to creative development and expression. The course features a comprehensive bespoke study programme which will enable me to develop my own direction. Tutors will introduce me to new techniques both traditional and contemporary and the flexibility of the course will allow me to continue with my established practice in wood whilst developing new work.
Ursula Von Rydingsvard & Mark Lindquist Studios
I'm delighted to announce that, as the recipient of a QEST Scholarship, I travelled to America this month to visit the studios of Ursula Von Rydingsvard and Mark Lindquist.
The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, awarded me a scholarship this November which allowed me to take a research trip to the US to explore ideas for a new body of larger-scale sculptural works and undertake further training.
The trip included a dream visit to meet artist Ursula Von Rydingsvard in her Brooklyn studio and a residency with sculptor Mark Lindquist in Florida. I was also able to attend The Salon Art + Design New York, where I had my work reviewed by the New York Times.
I hope to share more about these experiences in my journal when I produce a report for QEST in the new year.
Time & Texture Installation
I'm thrilled that my Time & Texture Installation at Forde Abbey is recipient of the British Wood Award in the 'Bespoke' category. The winners were announced at a ceremony on 21 November.
Time and Texture is an installation of works forming part of ‘A Landscape of Objects’, a site-specific exhibition set in the gardens of Forde Abbey, curated by Flow Gallery for Somerset Art Works. The brief was to reference both the shapes, colours and texture of the gardens and buildings and the importance of water on the site.
The installation is formed of three hollowed vessels on rusted plinths and four solid forms designed to show how natural elements erode and work away at materials. Through building up layers of texture through carving and sandblasting away the softer wood, it is possible to show how natural elements and processes layer and colour wood.
The wellingtonia and sycamore vessels were turned on a lathe and hollowed out through a small hole. The four solid pieces are sculpted from English oak and cedar. The spherical form was chosen to reflect the natural shapes in the garden. The textures are reminiscent of seeds, pollen and rocks eroded by water.
The Wood Awards is the UK’s premier competition for excellence in architecture and product design in the world’s only naturally sustainable material. The Awards aim to recognise, encourage and promote outstanding design, craftsmanship and installation using wood.
The competition began in 1971 as the Carpenters’ Award and was relaunched in 2003 as the Wood Awards. The Awards have had an impact on the architectural and design landscape, becoming a ‘mark of excellence’ in wood with past Arnold Laver Gold Award Winners including Adam Richards Architects for Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, Niall McLaughlin Architects for The Fishing Hut and, most recently, Foster+Partners for Maggie’s at the Robert Parfett Building.
The Awards’ elite independent judging panel of professional experts and specialists not only judges the submitted entries but visits the shortlisted projects in person, making the Wood Awards as meaningful and rigorous a competition as possible.
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A LANDSCAPE OF OBJECTS | Curated by Flow Gallery
FORDE ABBEY, CHARD, SOMERSET, TA20 4LU
16 JUNE - 27 OCTOBER 2017
Visit 'A Landscape of Objects' >
More about the Wood Awards >
New works for 'Rhythm of Time'
'Rhythm of Time' is opening shortly at Konsthantverkarna in Stockholm. It will be my debut solo show, my first exhibition in Scandinavia and the broadest collection of my work to date. The exhibition will also be the first outing for these new ‘Basaltes’ vessels in Wellingtonia - inspired by eroding columnar Basalt rock features.
Part of the ‘Time & Texture’ series - these new, elongated forms are turned and carved in a freer way using an angle grinder and chainsaw wheel. A natural ‘slate grey’ tone is drawn from the wood using an iron solution (iron being a property of Basalt) or the wood is ‘pickled’ white.
Basalt is a fine-grained, igneous rock which makes up a significant part of the oceanic crust. The distinctive columnar topology or ‘fractures’ are created during the cooling of a thick lava flow - forming a ‘random cellular network’. Basalts weather and erode relatively fast compared to other rocks and the typically iron-rich minerals can oxidise rapidly in water and air.
Although Basalt is usually dark grey in tone - weathering or high concentrations of plagioclase can create different shading. Some basalts can be quite light-coloured and others turn a reddish brown due to oxidation.
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RHYTHM OF TIME | Solo Show
KONSTHANTVERKARNA, SÖDERMALMSTORG 4, 116 45 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
28 MAY - 21 JUNE
Represented by Sarah Myerscough Gallery
Following a series of introductory exhibitions, COLLECT 2017 will mark the beginning of my formal representation by Sarah Myerscough Gallery (Booth 2.2). This is a significant step, taking my practice forward as an artist-maker. The gallery will focus on works within the Contours of Nature series and I’m currently putting the finishing touches on new sculptural pieces in burr for COLLECT.
I’m fascinated by wood as a living, breathing substance with its own history of growth and struggle centuries beyond our own and I’m particularly drawn to the organic mayhem and creative possibilities of burred wood. This proliferation of cells, formed over decades or even centuries as a reaction to stress or as a healing mechanism is a rare, mysterious and beautiful act of nature.
The twisted configuration of the grain and the frequent bark inclusions and voids are challenging to work and the forms difficult to hollow but the removal of the bark reveals a secret, ethereal landscape, unseen by anyone before. Parts of the form are sculpted smooth and others left raw and untouched. Heavy, forceful hollowing gives way to sandblasting and fine and dextrous work cleaning up every fissure and contour. Pieces are bleached and scorched and tirelessly hand-worked to different lustres and an alabaster-like smoothness. They become objects that invite touch and objects that touch us, reminding us of our elemental and emotional bond with wood and our relationship to the Earth.
COLLECT will be the first of a programme of exhibitions this year in which my works will be represented by Sarah Myerscough Gallery:
SAVE THE DATES
COLLECT, Booth 2.2, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK, 2 - 6 Feb 2017
Design Miami/Basel, Hall 1 Süd, Messe Basel, Switzerland, 13 - 18 June 2017
PAD London, Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London, UK, 2 - 3 October 2017
The Salon Art + Design, Park Avenue Armory, NYC, USA 19 - 13 November 2017
Design Miami, Miami, USA, 6 - 10 December 2017
PAD London & The Salon Art + Design NY
In this photograph by Frank Sadaa (Pictured Left) you can see one of my Voided Vessels in Burr positioned on a spectacular sculptural shelf by Joseph Walsh. These works were exhibited by Sarah Myerscough Gallery at PAD London in October alongside pieces by eight other artists and makers - many of whom will also be represented at The Salon Art + Design in New York this month.
I'll exhibit a new piece at The Salon titled Voided Vessel IX and have included a snapshot of the piece in progress at the end of this journal entry. I'm delighted to have my work on show with such a talented group - here is a little more about the others represented:
Christopher Duffy: In Christopher’s tables layers of glass, acrylic and wood sculpturally map the depths of a geographical landscape - as if a ‘mythical power had lifted a perfect rectangle straight from the earth’s crust.’ (Pictured Right)
Ernst Gamperl: Wood is turned when wet to create a dialogue with the medium before arriving at a final shape. The curved edges, bulges and indentations emerge out of the natural deformation of the wood and are an essential part of Ernst’s designs.
Gareth Neal: Gareth combines technical 3D computer drawing and CNC processes, with intricate craftsmanship. His practice seeks a reconsideration of contemporary furniture design, questioning our perceptions of history and the contemporary, the material and immaterial.
Joseph Walsh: The shelf pictured is part of Joseph’s ‘Enignum’ series in which he has stripped wood into thin layers, manipulating and reconstructing them into extraordinary free form compositions.
Liam Flynn: Liam manipulates the woodturning process so that the line of the grain becomes an integral part to the design - creating symmetry between the grain pattern and the the vessel form. This resulting vessels are breathtakingly simple and elegant.
Maisie Broadhead: Maisie reinterprets art historical images, and is concerned with the exploration of illusion and the idea of ‘value.’ The contemporary and historical elements in her lavish costumes and complex set designs identify enduring social and aesthetic narratives.
Marc Ricourt: In Marc’s own words - ‘my work on vessels has allowed me to develop a relationship between ancient or geographically remote cultures and civilizations and modern creations.’ (Pictured Left)
Michael Peterson: These monumental sculptures are inspired by the geographic environment of the Pacific Northwest. Organic and abstract they are powerful in their artistic grasp of sculptural form and expressive texture.
Peter Marigold: Peter’s most recent design project ‘Bleed’ is a series of contemporary cedar wood cabinets. Although simple forms, the surface patina is painterly and complex and incorporates a form of ‘localised ebonising’ created through an entirely innovative process.
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THE SALON ART + DESIGN NY | Sarah Myerscough Gallery
10-14 NOVEMBER 2016
BOOTH B7, PARK AVENUE ARMOURY, 643 PARK AVENUE, NEW YORK, NY
More about Salon Art + Design New York >
In the pink at the Rio Olympics...
I’m incredibly proud to have a quartet of my new Wellingtonia (Giant Redwood) vessels showcased in the British House for the Rio Olympics this August. They are made from a beautiful tree felled in the British Isles, planted in 1854. The works will be exhibited alongside one of my sculptural pieces in Burr, created from a Horse Chestnut planted in 1710.
This shot by Jeremy Johns is of the Wellingtonian works in progress. When first sandblasted the wood blushes this distinctive dusky pink, but fades naturally with the passing of time. The larger vessel Shifting Sands II has now been ebonised, and the matt black finish emphasises the exquisite grain of the wood.
British House is the UK’s home away from home at Rio 2016, the place to celebrate Team GB’s sporting performance and a cultural showcase for the best of the UK. During the Olympics, it is located in the centre of Rio de Janeiro at historic Parque Lage, adjacent to the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue and within the Copacabana cluster of the Games.
Other artworks on show include a dramatic paper chandelier by Zoe Bradley as well as pieces by fellow Crafted 2015 participants: Theresa Nguyen, Insley and Nash and Alexandra Llewellyn.
More about British House Rio >
Best Contemporary Design Piece
To top off a fantastic show at Design Miami/ Basel I was delighted that my 'Voided Vessel V' was selected for the '9 Best Contemporary Design Pieces' by Blouin ARTINFO:
"The only item that Blouin ARTINFO wanted to absolutely take home from Design Miami/ Basel 2016 has been this vessel, hand-carved from a burr protruding from a horse chestnut tree. Gently bleached and sandblasted to a pale color that highlights the sculptural quality of the work, the wood is prized for its beauty and rarity." - Jana Perkovic
The vessel was exhibited at Design Miami/Basel as part of Nature Lab, A Future Made showcase presented by Crafts Council and The New Craftsmen. Telling the story of nature transformed - each of the six makers on show had developed new techniques to create objects of wonder.
New International Shows & UK Events
Spring sees the start of an incredible International journey for my work to Taste at Artmonte-carlo, followed by Nature Lab at Design Miami/ Basel. There will also be some very special shows closer to home - including Crafted at Fortnum & Mason, Chelsea Flower Show and Open Studios.
Spring newsletter >
Spring News in Brief
Aerial Landscape Photography
A pioneer in aerial landscape photography in the 50s, William A. Garnett has been a longstanding influence on my work. Garnett’s black and white images capture the extraordinary beauty and threat to the landscape - viewed almost to the point of abstraction. I have explored these themes more deeply in my recent Erosion Series. Non representational works, made in nature's own material - revealing the story within the wood but also providing a broader commentary on the vulnerability of the landscape at large.
There are a couple of fantastic books of Garnett’s works on my shelf - displaying astonishing patterns created by plowed fields, cattle trails, sand dunes, cracked ice and salt flats. In particular I am drawn to this image of Butte in Marble Canyon, Arizona featured in William Garnett: Aerial Photographs - pictured here on my workbench. There is a particular artistry in the sinuous curves which appear to be carved into the landscape in light and shade.
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Garnett (1916 - 2006) was born in Chicago, Illinois. After early forays into art and design he worked as a photographer for the Police Department and an aircraft company. After the war he purchased a tiny Cessna 170n plane and began capturing the landscape on camera, creating the images for which he is now renowned. Garnett’s photography expresses a deep rooted interest in conservation and desire to preserve the landscape. He received three Guggenheim fellowships and his work has been exhibited by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles among many others.
More about William A. Garnett >
New Perspective for a New Year
This photograph is the view from the FT building where I just took part in the first Walpole Crafted cohort meeting of the year. I am more used to being surrounded by trees or a sawdust filled studio - so soaking up this panoramic of London, getting to know my fellow Crafted participants and exploring my practice from a new perspective was a refreshingly different start to 2016.
The Crafted programme was founded to nurture talented craftspeople, keep their skills alive and showcase their talents to a wider audience. I am one of the seven participants who were selected by a panel of judges for the Crafted Class of 2015. Fellow mentees include my talented Cockpit Arts neighbour Mark Tallowin as well as Alexandra Llewellyn, Insley & Nash, Silvia Weidenbach, Struthers-London and Theresa Nguyen.
Part of the programme includes one-to-one mentorship and I have been paired with the inspirational Edward Mason of Mason Campbell, who is already encouraging me out of my comfort zone and into some interesting new territories. I’ll look forward to sharing more of these new experiences as they unfold this year.
“...exceptional quality of making and materials provide the tangible foundations that ever-more discerning consumers increasingly demand. The Crafted Class of 2015 is one of the most talented intake we have had.” - Guy Salter, Founder and Chairman of Crafted
More about the Crafted Class of 2015 >
‘Between Creation and Decay’ Feature
“I aspire to make simple but beautiful things with a purposeful form that you want to hold and touch, which take your somewhere else and remind you of our relationship with the world.”
I was interviewed by Corinne Julius for the latest issue of Crafts Arts International. ‘Between Creation and Decay - the Woodworking of Eleanor Lakelin’ is the most in-depth article about my practice to date and, as curator of Future Heritage, Corinne has a great understanding of my work. The full five page story can be found alongside features on many other inspiring artists in Issue #95. Here is a short extract:
“Vessels bleached white with strange whorls of holes and accretions evoke the image of decaying sheep’s skulls, others like multi-magnified sea urchins have strange nobbled surfaces as if the sea has worn away the spines to uneven lengths and rounded them, still others have the feel of woven African baskets; such are the striking works in wood by Eleanor Lakelin.
Her pieces are highly accomplished and very contained; a world in wood that sits on a surface in its own space, yet invites the viewer to look inside. ‘I’ve always wanted hands to be drawn to pieces … I want pieces to be solid enough to touch as I think by handling something we can be absorbed and taken to a new level of experience. I think that’s why I’m so interested in texture…both the natural texture of burr and by carving and sandblasting,’ explains Lakelin.”
More from Crafts Arts International >
Site-specific artwork for Somerset Arts Week
Most of my work to date has explored the depth of connection we have to nature and landscape. Through turning and carving, vessels grow and emerge from a chunk of tree and both form and surface reference natural forms and the texture of landscape. To actually place sculptural forms in the landscape or outside environment is a natural development so I was very pleased to be approached this year by Karina Joseph of Field to explore this idea further through creating my first site-specific work. The piece was part of ‘Sensing The Landscape’, a broader project exploring sensory encounter with the garden environment.
On the outside of some of my recent vessels the texture gradually erodes from the bottom surface towards the mouth of the vessel; sharp peaks become rounded and smoothed as if by age and elemental processes. For 'Eroding Form', my largest scale piece to date, I have created three solid, textured spheres in green oak to reinterpret and separate this process of erosion into three phases or moments in time, each sphere representing a step in thesoftening, layering and fissuring of time. Material usually found in a garden or landscape has been transformed and returned to sit and be viewed in the lush rural garden of Aller Farmhouse during Somerset Arts Week through the changing colours of vegetation and light.
Fellow ‘Sensing the Landscape’ artists include: Edward Chell, Kim Francis and Fay Stevens. and limited editions will be available to purchase from the Field gallery website. The project was curated by Field in partnership with Somerset Art Works and National Garden Scheme (NGS). Funded by Arts Council England and donations.
More about Sensing the Landscape >
Installation Curated by The New Craftsmen
This September The New Craftsmen invited eighteen makers to reinterpret a bowl of specific shape and dimensions within the scope of their individual craft practice. Pursuing the concept of an ‘Anthology of British Craft’ they will transform the VIP Lounge at Decorex International in collaboration with House & Garden Magazine.
I have created two new pieces with particular provenance for the show: 'The Wellington' in cedar and 'Chasing Silk' in mulberry. The name of the latter references James I ill fated plan to cultivate silk worm by planting black mulberry. Some four acres of Mulberry Garden were planted at the grounds of Buckingham Palace in 1608. Furthermore landowners were ordered to purchase and plant 10,000 of this species. The plan is said to have failed as silk worms only feed on the leaves of white mulberry.
My work will also be exhibited at Decorex as part of Future Heritage curated by design and applied arts critic Corinne Julius as 'a definitive guide of today’s most important designer-makers and the names to collect in British craft in 2015'.
Following Decorex my 'Bowls of Britain' pieces will be showcased at The New Craftsmen and will be available to buy online.
Photograph by George Sydney.
Designs on the Duke of Wellington’s Tree
I only work with wood felled in the British Isles and I’m always fascinated by the provenance of my materials and how this shapes my process and work. There is always an interesting tale to tell, however my latest commission from the National Trust is even more extraordinary than most.
In the summer of 2014, a great cedar tree planted by the Duke of Wellington in 1827 had to be felled at the National Trust property Kingston Lacy. I have been asked to create a collection of vessels from this beautiful, historical tree, to mark the 200th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo in June.
My work will be on display in the Spanish room of the house, as apparently it was during his time in Spain that the once Lord of the Manor, William Bankes, collected Art and cemented his friendship with the Duke of Wellington. The vessels will also be available to purchase online from the National Trust - offering a unique opportunity to invest in a piece of history. I’m happy to say that proceeds will help fund conservation works at Kingston Lacy.
View designs in the National Trust collection >
Springing into new projects thanks to Arts Council England
I’m starting Spring with various new projects thanks to a new Grants for the Arts award from Arts Council England. A talented young photographer, George Selwyn-Brace, will be documenting me at work in the studio.
A showcase of his photography, which will depict the processes undertaken in my practice, will then be exhibited at a series of public events. This starts with Cockpit Arts Open Studios, Deptford, 15-17 May as part of London Craft Week. The grant has also allowed me to buy a Centauro industrial bandsaw in order to develop a new body of work. This beast of a machine will allow me to work at a larger scale with greater efficiency and scope for experimentation. The five-person struggle to get it into the studio has definitely been worth it!
Making a Milan Furniture Fair Debut
The three vessels pictured here were made using Horse Chestnut Burr from a tree planted in 1710. They are lathe-turned and then sandblasted to finish removing the bark. Dental tools are used to remove bark from hard to reach holes and crevices before the forms are either bleached or ebonised.
These pieces are part of a wider collection which I shipped to Italy in March to be exhibited by Despina Curtis Studio for the Carl Hansen showcase at Milan Furniture Fair. The show, also known as Salone del Mobile, is considered to be the global benchmark for home furnishings.
I have long held an interest in exhibiting at Milan since my days as a furniture-maker, so I was particularly delighted when this opportunity arose. The connection with Carl Hansen, who has a strong emphasis on craftsmanship also seemed very fitting - “Craftsmanship can be alot of things. To us, it is everything and it has been so ever since 1908 when Carl Hansen founded his company in Odense, Denmark.”
