Saprophytes are organisms, normally fungi or bacteria, that obtain nutrients from decaying plants and animals and transform them into other forms.
Here the woodworking artists take on this role, we slice off the back of sticks and trans-morph them into 'fruiting bodies' that emerge from the front. Nothing is added or taken away, we work with what is there and use the method... observe, interact, adapt & repeat to find what each stick 'wants' to do. Instead of hard-won genetic learning and bio-chemical apparatus we use our hands, tools, culture and imagination to coax each stick to a new destiny, locking that carbon into art forever.
This project started in a Cumbrian storm when a damson tree opposite my house shed a large branch. This is from a small hawthorn tree that was growing under a giant Yew tree - it was going very straight for reach the light but we know from other hawthorn trees it was at it's peak potential. We'd never worked with hawthorn before so we started simple and I was amazed how well it steam-bent giving us many tight 180 degree bends, each one giving us two petals resulting in this design.
Please note this can be hung on a wall without the base - OR - on the stone and metal base as you see in the photos and at the show. If you intend to hang it on a wall PLEASE leave the base with us so we can re-use it.
Time to grow: c. 16 years
Time in workshop: 1 month
Material: Hawthorn. Base: Limestone, reclaimed recycled stainless steel, reclaimed felt.
Size: 54cm x 15cm x 56cm