Dimensions: Ø18cm x H17cm
Materials: Beech
Method: Sourced from a fellow woodswoman, this piece was turned on a lathe using hand-held gouges from spalted beech wood. It displays beautiful patterning which can be seen in the interior of the piece as well as the exterior. The piece retains slightly more weight in the bottom to enable the piece to move. Spalting in wood is very much part of Jayne’s repertoire because it appeals on many different levels. It is incredibly beautiful and its beauty stems from a process of decay caused by white-rot decay fungi. The fungi create zone lines (black markings) in wood where territories of competing fungi meet: a fungal battle over territory. This process can take a few years and if taken too far can destroy the wood completely. Knowing the moment to call an end to the decaying process is key to the art of making spalted wood. This piece created from spalted wood references a sense of the fleeting nature of life and a sense of melancholy.
Care: These pieces are largely sculptural and should be handled with care and kept away from sources of direct sunlight and heat. Each piece has a protective finish. They should not be washed, but wiped clean with a damp cloth from time to time to remove dust.
Description
This vessel, crafted from spalted beech wood, is a testament to the beauty of decay and ephemerality – as the patterning in the wood is a result of fungal rot. A substantial piece, this work is not feather-light as many of Armstrong’s other vessels are. The unique natural motif contrasted with the simple form allows this work to hold its own.
About the Artist
Jayne Armstrong is an artist and maker in wood. Jayne works primarily in fresh, green wood to explore the sculptural and aesthetic possibilities of a material that moves and changes shape as it dries. Her work is intended to play with the boundary between sculpture and function and to challenge expectations of the material itself. The resulting forms are fluid, undulating and frequently monochromatic in tone.
Jayne’s background as an academic within the field of cultural studies informs and underpins her approach to her work. Her work is experimental and exploratory, drawing from art history, design history and philosophy. She describes her work as a dialogue between material, concept, technology and technique.
